Missing Hokage Challenge! - The Wandering Legacy
by Minister Masket
Summary: A week after Naruto fails to convince Sasuke to return to Konoha, the village council votes to banish him from the village. Tsunade, Shizune and an unwitting Hinata join him in exile, and start the legend of the Missing Hokage. But how will Konoha cope with their loss?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **The Naruto Universe is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

**Update! **- Couple typos amended and changed some of the gatekeeper's lines to fix continuity.

**Super Update! - **A line of Danzo's ended up conflicting with the rest of the story so his lines have been tweaked. As have a few other bits.

**Note to New Readers - **Please note this prologue does not do the rest of the story justice, but it looked good at the time!

* * *

**The Missing Hokage - A Wandering Legacy**

**Prologue**

It is said that on days of a particularly sad occurrence, the weather will change and pouring rain will drench the land. However, much like on any other normal day, bright sunshine lit up the Hidden Village in the Leaves - Konohagakure. It might well have been any other typical day for the ninja village, if it wasn't the first day of Uzumaki Naruto's exodus and the beginning of the legend of the Missing Hokage.

Sarutobi Konohamaru was unaware of the day's importance as he stared up at the Hokage Monument, something he found himself doing often lately. He missed his grandfather dearly, but seeing his face up there with the other Hokage was a small consolation. Was he still somehow watching over the village after death?

_I hope so._

The old man had often talked of the "will of fire", something Konohamaru didn't exactly understand yet. Whatever it was, he suspected he and Naruto had it, and the hope that brought superseded the pain of grief, if only for awhile.

In fact he hadn't seen his adopted big brother in awhile, not since his string of recent escapades, the latest of which had been an intercepted prison break by Mizuki - the rogue Academy instructor.

As he turned away, Konohamaru noticed that the stonemasons who until recently had been starting work on the Fifth's face were totally absent. Maybe it was their day off or something.

Heading down the side street that led to Naruto's apartment, he thought of many ways he could surprise him. Maybe a new kind of Sexy Jutsu.

_Or a transformation into Haruno Sakura. He's always following her around. The look on his face when I release the jutsu will be priceless!_

He couldn't resist chuckling to himself, drawing a few odd looks from passers-by.

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of his prank, Konohamaru's train of thought was interrupted by loud commotion behind him. Glancing round, he first noticed that Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage herself, was marching down the street behind him. He then spotted Shizune behind her, pulling along a large cart.

Then he noticed other people in the street running for cover, as the air around Tsunade seemed to be radiating the rage of the Sun Goddess herself.

It appeared that Tsunade was very, _very_ angry.

_Oh crap!_

Konohamaru was not the brightest kid of his age but he knew to stay where he was would be suicide. With a few well placed leaps he was onto one of the lower shop roofs within seconds. Looking back, he watched Tsunade storm past. It was lucky everyone had the good sense to run away. Had anyone remained in Tsunade's path, they would've likely been obliterated. Curiously, she had the distinctive Hokage hat clipped to her side.

_What happened? And why is that cart filled with...junk?_

At least it looked like junk from the roof. Bags, boxes, a couple barrels...and scrolls? Forget Naruto, this was way more exciting! Udon and Moegi had to see this. He leapt onto the next roof and away.

He found his closest friends in the shopping district, saving valuable time from rounding them up from their homes. It didn't take long to convince the two of them to follow him, many of the fellow shoppers around them were openly spreading the rumours that something was wrong with the Hokage. Her march through Konoha was not going unnoticed, but then subtlety had never been her strongest suit.

Rushing back towards the side-street, it seemed following Tsunade wouldn't be diffcult either. That cart was heavy enough to leave visible tracks in the dirt and the trio followed. It was strange to see the way ahead completely deserted.

"Nyeh...Konohamaru-kun, is this such a good idea?" Udon asked before sniffing. Why did he never bring tissues?

"Udon's right" Moegi said in a hushed voice. "If the Hokage's as mad as they say, there's no way I'm getting too close."

"We won't. We're just looking to see what's up".

Oddly enough, the tracks circled around Naruto's apartment building, and it looked like the cart had stopped briefly.

"Wait here guys." he said before hurtling up the stairs. He knew from stories that Naruto always left his window unlocked. Maybe he could convince Naruto-niichan to tag along. He might even be able to calm her down, knowing that he'd convinced her to come to Konoha in the first place.

It turned out Konohamaru didn't even need to clamber onto the balcony; the front door was wide open.

"Naruto-niichan?"

Stepping gingerly inside, he entered an empty room. Naruto wasn't here, but why was the door open? Something had happened here recently, the bed was unmade, spare scrolls littered the floor and milk had been spilled near the fridge. Feeling uneasy, Konohamaru left and jumped down to rejoin his comrades.

"Something's wrong. Naruto-niichan's not there and his room is all smashed up."

"Who would do that...wait...Tsunade?" Moegi asked as she glanced down at the tracks.

"C'mon, we gotta follow where she's gone!"

"Hang on a-" Moegi began but not fast enough to stop Konohamaru rushing ahead. She glanced at her teammate, sighed, and followed.

The cart's path cut all the way through the village. Konohamaru was beginning to tire near the village's edge. It couldn't be that much further, there wasn't anywhere else to go.

_Unless she was leaving Konoha. No, she'd only just got here!_

He turned the last corner, and standing underneath the main gate, there they were. Tsuande. Shizune. Naruto. And a dark-haired girl of Naruto's age that he didn't recognize, not from this distance. He turned around to see his friends struggling behind, panting.

"Quick! Hurry!"

He turned back to see the foursome pass under the gate.

_They're ALL going? Where!?_

With adrenaline kicking in, he hurled himself towards the gate. Naruto definitely wasn't being kidnapped, he was willingly walking alongside the cart.

Konohamaru would've gotten further, but the sight of the guard stepping out of the gate hut to block his way stopped him in his tracks.

"Where do you think you're going kiddo?"

"After them! Where are they going?"

"Didn't you hear? The Council banished Uzumaki Naruto. Lady Hokage probably went along to escort him to a new home. She made quite a case for leaving." he replied, a couple of sweat drops forming on his brow.

_Naruto-niichan...banished...?_

"What? No! They can't!"

"Banished? Why?!" Moegi asked as she and Udon caught up.

"Search me. You guys aren't getting through though, so don't even think about it."

Konohamaru's fists were clenching. He could try to get past but he knew deep down he wouldn't get far. The guards were good at what they did. He stared past the one facing him and watched the figure in his unforgettable orange jumpsuit walking away. As if in response, Naruto turned around and raised his fist to the sky, pointed at the Hokage monument.

Then Konohamaru saw Naruto look down and notice the three of them. Slowly, the fist opened up into a slow wave. Konohamaru's hand shot up to return the gesture, as did Moegi and Udon's. He watched as Naruto reluctantly turned away, and could do nothing as the tears started to flow.

* * *

Koharu Utatane stood on the balcony of the Hokage Tower, alongside her ever-present companion and fellow council member Homura Mitokado. Her eyes weren't getting any better but she could just make out a few dots walking down the forested road away from Konoha.

"They've left then?"

How typical of Danzo to appear behind them without a sound. He hobbled forward slowly, staring in the same direction.

"Hai." she replied.

"What exactly did she take?"

"A lot, we should discuss this inside." said Mitokado.

"I see. This is most unexpected. Where is Jiraiya?"

"He's easy enough to contact. I can get him here within a few days."

"Good. Let's talk in the office."

Utatane took one last look towards the gate. She knew the Kyuubi-child would be harder to track outside of the village, but she could not disagree with Mitokado, and his arguments made sense. Still, that nagging thought in the back of her mind about this decision would not shift.

The Konoha Council had banished the nine-tails jinchuuriki from the village, and in doing so, possibly lost the Fifth Hokage along with him.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Well hi there! I figured a good way to introduce myself into this writing community would be to produce a self-written Q&A session:

**Who the fook are you?**

I am Matt, living in the UK, doing a screenwriting course at University, and this is my very first attempt at writing a fan-fiction story, let alone a Naruto one. But do read on before that puts you off.

**So what makes you think you can write a half-decent Naruto-based story?**

Well I've seen every single episode of Naruto from the very beginning right up to the current episode of Shippuuden (at the time of writing, Ep 305: "The Vengeful"). Yes, including the OVA's and those awful, ridiculous Curry of Life, "The Allied Mom Force" and ostrich-based filler episodes. Plus all the movies up to the first post-timeskip one. Even at its worst points I never wanted to stop watching the series, and I will keep watching til the damn thing finally ends. So yeah...maybe that's reason enough for you.

**What got you interested in fan-fiction?**

Probably the same way most people do. Firstly hearing about those hilariously bad romance short stories (the infamous Draco Malfoy one comes to mind), before stumbling across some genuinely engaging stories written with real intelligence and respect. TVTropes was my biggest helper there.

**Uh huh, have you actually read some fan-fics?**

Yes actually, if only a few. The brilliant "Team 8" by S'TarKan and "Time Braid" by ShaperV. Reading about the latter was in fact how I found the Missing Hokage challenge in the first place. I've read scraps of other fics but to avoid drawing unconscious elements from other stories I probably won't read many more. I'd prefer most of my writing to come from my own imagination.

**Why Lionheart's "Missing Hokage" challenge?**

Laziness mostly. Not sure a completely original story would be ideal for a debut story and this was the first challenge I stumbled across. Also I've read a couple of the previous responses to it and feel I can do somewhat better.

**So you'll be following all the rules then?**

Yes...mostly. Okay there's one rule in particular that doesn't make an awful lot of sense to me character-wise so I'm gonna 'adapt' it slightly. If you really want to know which one it is, go to Lionheart's profile page and it's the third rule from bottom. The only other rule I want to address leads nicely onto the next question...

**What about pairings?**

Right, I'm well aware this is the main reason most people read this stuff, and that one of the rules calls for NaruxHina and/or harem. Without spoiling too much, don't expect to find any kind of harem or immediate romances. I'm attempting something a wee bit more realistic here, and these characters are 12. 'Twelve'. Think about that for a second. That said, we'll see where the story goes. ^^

**Are you done yet? I'm bored.**

Sheesh. Everyone's a critic eh? Go figure.

I will point out the style of this story will be rather like Game of Thrones, which I fooking love. That means each chapter will be broken down into the perspectives of multiple characters. Probably only two or three a chapter. The series has a great variety of characters, and the anime tends to shove the vast majority into the background, so it'd be great to give some of them the limelight for a spell.

One final thing. Whether you love, hate or feel astoundingly indifferent about any chapter, please leave a review, short or long, all are welcome. Constructive criticism as a bonus is always a big help and I expect to make plenty of mistakes as a debut writer. Point these out without hesitation!

So...thank you kindly, and enjoy.


	2. No Way Back

**Disclaimer: **The Naruto Universe is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I wonder if he ever wishes he was living in it.

* * *

Day 1

**Naruto**

As the sun passed over the surrounding forests of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto tried to distract himself by looking at the way the light shone through the leaves and branches, a beautiful sight really. It didn't work in the slightest; his mind was abuzz with thoughts and confusion. Mostly confusion.

He'd heard what Tsunade had said shortly after nearly breaking his door down.

_Council._

_Banishment._

_Bastards._

The words came so thick and fast, and before he'd even had time to react, Tsunade was pressing him to pack his stuff and leave. His was so distracted by the news and her rage that he knocked over some milk, out-of-date as per usual. He even almost forgot the photo of Team 7, now hidden away safely in his pocket.

The stunned mood that had been with him ever since leaving his apartment was now replaced by his usual erratic self, as the full realization of what had happened struck.

"This is STUPID! I never got to say goodbye to anyone! Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Ero-sennin..."

He grunted and clenched his fists. There were plenty more names on that list but remembering any more threatened to bring tears to his eyes and rage to his heart.

"I informed Kakashi of what was happening before I left the Tower, he left immediately to find Sakura. The others will know by the end of the day I'm sure."

Tsunade didn't even look at him while answering, her eyes were locked on the path ahead.

"That's not the point! _I_ never got to say goodbye!" he yelled again to the back of her head.

"Naruto-kun, please..." Shizune swiveled her head round, sweat beads were forming from the effort of pulling the cart. "This is a terrible time for all of us. Tsunade-sama left the village for you. Let her think things out." Her expression was an unhealthy mix of fatigue and anxiety. Looked like she wasn't taking this much better than he was.

Making another noise more like a wheeze than a grunt, Naruto clenched his face up. What good was thinking in silence going to do? That was not going to get him back to Konoha.

"IDIOTS! They had no right to kick me out! Why don't we just go back there and kick their heads in-"

"If you don't shut up for five minutes then you'll regret it, Brat! I told you back at the gates that I will explain the details once we get to Otafuku City." This time she did look round, and she had that white-hot fury look in her eyes that promised eternal pain on anyone that crossed her. "If you want to head back and try your luck, fine! Just know that the guards will do everything to stop you getting past the walls. The Council will have made sure of that."

Admitting defeat (for now), Naruto folded his arms and screwed his eyes shut, muttering a colourful word under his breath. How could they banish him? Why was he being forced to leave his home? Sure, it hadn't been an easy ride all these years, in fact he'd been downright miserable for parts of his childhood. Nasty memories of beatings, verbal abuse and God knows how many dirty stares aimed his way filled his mind. It hadn't been everybody, but everywhere he went he seemed to attract disgust from his fellow villagers. For years, only Teuchi of Ramen Ichiraku, his daughter Ayame and the old man Hokage himself seemed to show Naruto any genuine affection. He would be lying to himself if he tried to deny at some points wondering if another town or ninja village would make him happier, but those were only on particularly dark days. His fists clenched up tighter, and somewhere deep down as if in his soul, a low rumble growled.

_But it wasn't always like that! Things were getting better!_

That was for sure. His determination at the Academy caught the eye of Iruka, the man who put him on his first steps to becoming a true ninja. With that came Team 7 - Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke. And the other genin who had graduated with him. All had acknowledged him in their own ways. He had been sure with more time he could've changed the minds of more of the villagers. Maybe even all of them eventually!

_And then Sasuke-teme had to go and ruin everything by leaving to join that freak Orochimaru! _

Sakura was still not quite looking at him in the same way since he'd promised and failed to return Sasuke home, despite her promising to assist him next time. Well looked like that plan had been blown right out the water along with all his other dreams. Konoha may have been an extremely difficult place to grow up in, but...

_It was my home. My only home. The only one I knew. And they've finally got rid of me - the village pariah. Now what...?_

He didn't want to think about when he would be able to see his friends again. When he would next see Sakura's beautiful face break out into a smile. When he would be able to train his three unofficial "students" again. Naruto was touched they'd managed to make it to the gate and wave him off, even from a distance he could tell they hadn't been happy about it.

Thinking about Konohamaru reminded him of their shared and most important dream. To become Hokage. How was he supposed to do that in a village that he couldn't even step in? His whole life had been spent dedicated to that, and now it was further away than ever, a shattered dream in pieces lying around his feet.

"Damn it all!" he cursed. Thinking things over wasn't going to help, but then not like he'd been any good at that anyway.

He looked over to his left, across the cart at the fourth member of their weird party. Yet another piece of the mysterious puzzle, one if anything he was even less sure of solving. Just what in the _hell_ was Hyuuga Hinata doing leaving the village with them!?

* * *

**Hinata**

Hyuuga Hinata sensed being watched, ironic really coming from a user of the all-seeing Byakugan. Catching Naruto's face facing hers out of the corner of her eye, she looked down at the floor, her cheeks already burning up.

_Naruto-kun..._

Why was he watching her? Surely he had enough on his mind already, his frequent outbursts were proof of that. Even though he was displaying pretty much all of the behaviours that were big no-no's in the book of Hyuuga etiquette, Hinata could not and would not blame him for that. His entire world had been pulled out from underneath him. She'd rather him be facing the wrath of the Hyuuga elders for stepping out of line in her household than be here, walking away from everything he knew.

_This is so unfair to him._

She still couldn't believe the reason given for his banishment, nor quite how _she'd_ ended up in this position leaving with him. The last six hours or so had been such a blur. She looked up and saw that Naruto had gone back to scowling and kicking the cart every minute or so. The more she noticed that furious look on his face, the less she remembered the bright smiles that had captured her heart. And so she turned away and recalled the events of the day that had led up to this, to distract herself.

It had begun all so innocently. She had woken up on another bright and beautiful day looking forward to training with Neji. She was so close to mastering a jutsu of her very own - Protection of the Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms, a technique that provided defensive protection rivalling anything else her family was capable of doing. Ever since the Chuunin Exams, her father had been once again checking up slowly on her training, having previously declared her useless, and that move was a perfect chance to show him just how far she'd improved. Her heart had skipped a beat when she then considered the news from her teammate Shino the previous day, where he'd talked about a possible mission to locate a rare bug of some kind. A bug that would aid in the search for Uchiha Sasuke. Any mission involving 'that' guy would surely grab the attention of Naruto. Imagine having the chance to show him her skills on a mission, the one who cheered her on against Neji, and broken him out of his rigid and bullying demeanour. The thought had made her positively giddy.

Over breakfast with Father and Hanabi, he'd informed them of a clan meeting taking place before lunch. Well that was nothing new, there'd been one only recently the day after Sasuke had defected, and to approve Neji's involvement in the retrieval team.

"Ano...Father...is this to t-talk about Uchiha Sakuke again?" she'd asked.

It had been bad enough at the Academy where Sasuke had always been the centre of attention among her few female friends. To get the same thing from her clan was downright annoying. Or troublesome if she'd wanted to impersonate Shikamaru like Ino often did.

"No. Though his actions have led to what I will be discussing." he'd replied, his eyes narrowing.

She was always familiar with that look, so she'd returned to staring at her bowl. Impatience was not a typical Hyuuga trait but this was as close as she'd ever remembered her father being like it; obviously whatever the news was, he was eager to share it.

An hour and a half later, all the Hyuuga that were present in Konoha had assembled inside the main hall, main house on one side, branch house on the other. As always, Hanabi sat closest to Father as his designated (but not completely official) heir, while Hinata was further down, next to Ko. Before Father had started speaking, she'd glanced over at Neji sat opposite, still sporting a few bandages from injuries delivered by the Sound ninja. She'd hoped he was still feeling well enough to continue their training. His change in attitude towards her since the Exams had been small, but so unlikely in itself that it had been remarkable. There was no longer the subtle burning hatred in those eyes. Noticing her look, he'd nodded in acknowledgement.

"I will now commence this clan meeting to discuss the decision taken yesterday by the Konoha Council." called out her father.

Though Hinata knew her own clan's politics down to a tee, she was less familiar of those that governed the whole of Konoha. She knew the Council's two elders would meet up informally, sometimes with Danzo, the bandaged ninja who was rarely seen and often rumoured to be neck-deep in secret ANBU business. The really big decisions though involved bringing in the heads of the major clans, plus the representatives of various civilian businesses, though she didn't know which. This must've been a huge judgement to result in a clan meeting.

"As all of you are most likely aware, the last of the Uchiha's escaped the village last week. Similarly, we have all recognised my nephew Neji's role as part of the retrieval team, and his honour in defeating one of the sound-nin."

Murmured approvals and nods came from some members of the branch house. Neji himself had remained emotionless.

"However, Uchiha Sasuke still escaped thanks to the failure of Uzumaki Naruto. The elders convened the Council after the team returned to discuss what should be done with him. His defeat has led to Konoha to lose one of our founding clans and has brought an irreversible stain on our village's honour. We the Council have debated this latest transgression in a long list of troublemaking and harassment of our citizens and ninja both. This _genin_ has overstepped his mark for the last time, and a majority vote was given for a punishment put forth by Danzo-san. Naruto will be banished from Konoha forthwith and from today has three days to leave. If he is stupid enough to stay, or try to return, Konoha will respond with lethal force."

Whatever swift joy Hinata had felt upon hearing 'that' name and been swiftly and repeatedly crushed by her father's words. And then came the final stinger: _banished._ She couldn't describe what she had felt during those following moments, but it was like having lived in a deep cave for years, and watching your last precious candle be snuffed out.

"This may seem like an inconsequential reason to bring you all here today, but I was informed that this decision may cause issues with the Hokage. We invoked a forgotten law set down by the Shodaime and the authority of the Daimyo to overrule her. Considering her previous dealings with the boy, this will make her particularly irritable for the time being, but she will eventually see the sense of the Council. I also warn you to be on your guard against those of the clans Nara, Aburame, Inuzaka and Akimichi, as the heads of those clans voted against the decision."

She didn't remember much else from that meeting, her mind had shut down as if in self defence. If any of her fellow Hyuuga had been outraged or delighted by the news, none showed it. As Ko walked her to her room some time later, her thought processes had still not recovered. Maybe that was why instead of simply dressing in battle gear for training with Neji, she also packed up bedding, clothes and her minimal battle gear in her rucksack. Maybe it was also why when she found Neji in the courtyard, she lied to him about an urgent mission request for Team 8. And maybe it was why when she passed through the Hyuuga gates, she thought it would be a fine thing to not see her household again for a thousand years.

Of course that defiant mental state hadn't lasted long; her senses began returning as she half-ran to the main street. What was she doing? Had she honestly thought she was going to leave with Naruto? Had Neji even believed her lie? Maybe he'd been too distracted by the news aswell to notice.

She'd stopped in the middle of the street, flanked by shoppers, not even knowing where she was going. She would've dropped to her knees in desperation right there and then, had a faint sound not unlike an explosive tag going off erupted from the direction of the main gate. Activating Byakugan, she'd noticed three chakra signatures from that area and heading for the gate: one huge and flaring, one unremarkable and the other..._his_. She'd ran for the gate, concerned that Naruto was already in dire trouble.

She'd reached the threesome just as they were approaching the gate-house. She'd been shocked to see the Hokage herself was the one accompanying Naruto, along with her black-haired companion whose name she didn't know. That was also the case of the gatekeeper with the weird bandage across his face, who had intercepted them. As Hinata approached, she'd caught the last stands of conversation.

"...need...paperwork...I can't just let you through Lady Hokage. The kid is supposed to leave without escort."

"You have officially five seconds to move Hagane before all that's left of you is a bloodstain on my finger. Go back to drinking with Kamizuki in your little shack, _now_, and let us pass."

Either those words, some look on the Hokage's face or a combination of the two had caused the impressive effects of the colour draining entirely from his face and puddles of sweat forming at his feet, all in under five seconds.

"Hai...Hokage-sama!" Scratch that. The time he took to scuttle back into the hut was even more impressive.

"Tch...okay then, let's get...who the hell are you?"

It had taken Hinata a few seconds to register that the Hokage had turned to face Naruto and had seen her standing mere metres away.

"Ah...ano...I..um..."

"Tsunade-sama," spoke up her companion. "That is one of the Hyuuga heiresses. Most likely Hinata going by her age."

"Ha...hai!" she'd nodded furiously. The Hokage gave her a quizzical look.

"Okay then, but what are you doing...oh no. No no no..." she'd repeated as her eyes noticed the backpack. "I already have one kid to deal with, I'm not taking another!"

"Ano...my father..."

"Your...wait..._Hiashi_ is your father right? And you can use the Byakugan?"

"Hai...and hai..."

An idea must've formed at the back of her mind for her attitude to change so suddenly.

"This could give us some real leverage! Shizune, if we're holding Hiashi's daughter, that gives us a foothold on the Council."

"Tsunade-sama...we can't just take this girl from her family!"

"We didn't take her. She approached us, right kid?"

Hinata forced her to nod, despite feeling she was now in a mess she wanted desperately out of.

"Alright then Hi-Na-Ta. You're with us. We're moving out!"

"But...b-but..." escaped from the lips of Hinata _and _Shizune, colour draining from their faces.

"No but's! Hokage's orders!"

And so the group of four had passed under the gate and started on the forested road. Hinata's first thought as an escapee was realising how quiet Naruto had been through all that. In fact, he hadn't done anything at all except stare into empty space. That had lasted another twenty minutes until finally yelling at Tsunade...

And back to the present. Naruto still looked furious. Tsunade was still in thought. That little pig was still sniffing around the cart innocently. And she was thinking how similarly she felt now to how she felt after leaving her household.

_What have I done...I am in so much trouble..._

She looked across the cart again. It wasn't entirely a disaster.

_At least I'm with Naruto-kun._

* * *

**Tsunade**

Far down in Senju Tsuande's mind, gears and cogs were clicking and turning, forming a number of devious ideas that could turn this unlikely situation into her advantage. Gambling came easy to her, and she was not about to waste this opportunity. Fate had delivered her a sweet card indeed.

_I have his eldest daughter. The heir to Kohona's most influential clan. Let's see them try anything else now!_

No, the day hadn't gone entirely to plan, and maybe_ - maybe_ - she shouldn't have been quite so violent with that shopkeeper who had accidentally blocked their way with his cart. Still, at least their quick exit have probably prevented them having to fight their way out of Konoha.

She had known something was up that morning when the two elders had entered her office, when she'd noticed they were wearing _body armour_ underneath their clothes. Obviously they'd expected the meeting would quickly go south. How nice of them to delay informing her of the decision from the night before to ensure they got the Daiymo's approval in time. But she'd surprised them. Not only had she not threatened them with grievous bodily harm, but she'd also managed to limit herself to one cry of fury, before picking up the hat of office and simply walking out, taking Shizune with her. They'd probably expected she would head to one of the training grounds to level a tree - or fifty - to calm herself down. Ha! How wrong they'd been. Instead, she had marched straight to the lower sealed quarters of the Hokage's Tower, dispelled the seal on the door (as only she as Hokage and few others could do), and removed from that room a number of scrolls, including the forbidden Scroll of Seals. Then, casting a simple genjutsu to make it appear as if they were carrying nothing, they'd simply walked out. How embarrassingly easy that had been. So much for security.

They'd split up briefly after that - Shizune to collect all their belongings and a cart to carry it all in, while she had used her privileges to collect a _sizable_ amount of ryo from the treasury. Her eyes almost sparkled knowing how much she had gotten away with. Her pre-Hokage debts seemed like minor quibbles in comparison.

_Think of all the poker tournaments and casinos I could hit with all that...no no...bad Tsunade! New priorities now!_

Even as Shizune had returned she attempted to convince her not to carry out this course of action, but she'd simply shot her a look that said rather clearly she was not to be swayed. Shizune - as was her way - had sighed and accepted the inevitable.

Naruto had proven surprisingly easy to get out of the village, despite his delayed reaction coming through now.

"Oi Granny..."

Something about that village was rotten to it's core. She knew going back there to try and fix things was a bad idea. Naruto had only convinced her by winning a stupid bet, and now look where he was. If that's how Konoha treats its heroes, and a kid she had grown to adore, she wanted no part of it.

_Their loss. This hero is mine now._

"Granny!"

"Ugh...what now?"

"Why is Hinata with us?"

She looked around again. The girl in question stared at the floor.

_Tch...so obvious. And yet I bet he hasn't noticed at all._

True to form, Naruto held a puzzled expression.

"If you had listened earlier, you'd know. But you'll get to hear everything soon enough. Listen Naruto, I need you to treat this like a mission. One I'm setting you right now, to not lose your cool and focus on our goal, which is?"

"To...to get to Otafuku City...?"

"Bingo. One step at a time."

"You got it Granny."

He didn't sound convinced, but it was better than the panic from before. Naruto loved missions and putting him in that mindset now could only help. She looked over at Shizune, more tired than ever.

_Hmm...maybe I should offer to pull that cart for awhil-_

The setting sun had already dipped behind the trees, but a new source of light caught Tsunade's eyes. The steady glow of civilization.

"Aha!"

"What is it Tsunade-sama?"

They all turned a corner in the winding road, and there it was. Shizune practically dropped dead from relief.

"Otafuku City. We're here!"

TBC

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Poor poor Hinata, having to serve as Miss Exposition for most of this chapter. Most of it's out of the way now though.

**I'm back again. What will your updating schedule be like?**

Great...well erm, as the next month or so is packed with Uni stuff, don't expect another chapter til at least mid-May. After that, who knows. I might aim for 2 a month. I can't help being a slow writer, procrastinator at heart n'all.

**Any responses to reviews?**

Yes actually. I don't think a couple of my reviewers read the author notes in the Prologue properly (they're now in my profile aswell). Hinata is going with them as it's a key rule of the challenge. And no this will likely not be a harem story because I do not dare to attempt to write one. Too complicated and beyond my skills methinks.

And as a final note, I'm inclined to hear from people about how to incorporate Sasuke into a story like this. He's a fascinating character to explore and I'd like to hear you lot's ideas. Keep those general reviews coming too. ^^

Next chapter: _The Stunned Leaf! _


	3. The Stunned Leaf!

**Disclaimer: **The Naruto Universe is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. Let's hope he never visits this site.

* * *

Day 1

**Sakura**

"That's...not funny sensei."

"This isn't a joke Sakura."

What a stupid thing to say. Had Kakashi finally lost his damn mind?

"This news is going to take awhile to sink in, that's why I asked you to sit down." he said calmly.

Haruno Sakura was sat down, inside her living room and flanked by her parents. Kakashi had found her initially hanging out with Ino, and had brought her home to deliver...this?

"Stop kidding around! I know exactly where Naruto is, either at home or eating at that damn ramen stall."

Kakashi sighed and folded his arms. Whatever look he had in his eye didn't appear to be comical, not that the mask made it easy to read his facial expressions.

"It's the truth. If you want I'll take you to his apartment myself and show you."

"No need sensei. I'll go on my own." She stood up, not noticing the looks of concern from her parents. "I need to remind him that he doesn't rest up enough, considering what he's been through. I'll be back soon okaasan, otousan." She strode out the room avoiding the gazes of the three adults and then outside, onto the route to Ichiraku's.

_Of course he'll be there. He's always there, practically lives off of ramen, the fool. He'll be there..._

She turned the corner to the small bar. He wasn't there.

_Okay, it's way too early for dinner so he's gonna be at home. Hopefully resting up._

Within minutes she was at the foot of the apartment building. Sparing little thought to the odd tracks on the ground, she walked up the stairs.

_He'll be here...he'll be here...I'm going to see his big dumb smile...he'll be here...he'll be here...he must be here...they couldn't do this...no way..._

She stood at the open doorway, and stared at the mild chaos within. So in shock, she didn't react when Kakashi appeared and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you believe me now?"

* * *

**Shikamaru**

_How troublesome._

Nara Shikamaru could not remember the last time his father's mask of indifference had slipped to reveal the true man within. Of course there had been many times when his mother had berated him for his attitude or unwillingness to help around the Nara household, but every time he'd managed to retain at least some form of dignity.

This...this however had the potential to become something else altogether.

Shikaku growled to himself. His son looked curiously at him but did not change his pace.

The three Nara's were on their way to the monthly 'Ino-Shika-Cho' family dinner meet-up at Choza's restaurant, and this was the first instance in which his father had seemed reluctant to go. He had come home late from the Council meeting the night before and went straight to bed. Very odd behaviour. Even his mother hadn't been let in on the big secret, as she'd brushed him off that morning with the old "you know what your father's like" line. Shikamaru could think of over a hundred different reasons why his old man would act in such a way but going into the details of each would be troubling and probably not worth the effort.

He sighed and hoped his father wouldn't let his attitude spoil the dinner. The Akimichi clan always treated him well. Maybe Choza and Inoichi's usual banter would get his father to cool off.

The late afternoon sun was just beginning to lose it's midday warmth as the Naras approached the restaurant. It seemed like just any normal day, so why did something in the air not feel right? It was a similar feeling he had on the day of the final rounds of the chuunin exams, right before the invasion. Now that he thought about it, some of the other villagers had held curious expressions as they'd passed by.

_I should..._

His hands instinctively moved together to almost form his thinking pose...

_Tch...otousan's paranoia is wearing off on me._ _Relax...relax..._

His hands fell back by his side. He took a few moments to gaze at passing clouds in the sky. What with everything that had happened recently, there can't have been anything else that would surprise him.

The door came into reach and Shikaku rapped on it. Within moments the door opened to reveal Choza in a cooking apron, followed by a wave of meaty aromas that blasted Shikamaru's nose. His stomach growled in eager expectation. If nothing else the Akimichis were by far the best cooks in Konoha and boy did they know how to awaken an appetite.

As always, Choza smiled at the sight of them, but Shikamaru did not fail to notice it was different to his typical one full of enthusiasm. This one was more resigned, though the genuine pleasure was still there in his face.

_Hmm...whatever's going on, it must involve the clans._

"Come in! Welcome, welcome. Take your usual seats."

"So he's not here yet. Hmph."

Shikaku remained standing while his family sat opposite the wall. The seating system was pretty well thought-out to compliment each clan, and a ninja didn't stop being a ninja even in a friendly and safe place like this. The Naras sat nearest the light source in the room's centre, where the shadows were more numerous, while the Yamanakas preferred sitting with their backs to the wall, with a full view of the large room. The Akimichis naturally sat closest to the kitchen.

"He'll be here Shikaku. None of us have ever missed these feasts."

"I can't believe him though...after all these years."

"He must have his reasons. The timing is bad but...the meal must not be ruined. I've worked away in there too hard for-"

"WHAT!" came a screech from the kitchen. Choza's wife's head loomed round the door to the kitchen. "_You've _worked too hard!? What do you think I'm doing right now!? The stew is about to boil over, get your butt back in here so Choji can sit down."

Her head disappeared as Choza grinned sheepishly.

"I'll be right back with the starters." he said, hurrying towards the kitchen.

"Sheesh okaasan, she's almost as troublesome as you." quipped Shikamaru, earning him a glare and a flick to the ear. His father sat down next to them, seemingly staring into thin air.

"O hoy, Shikamaru!"

"Hey Choji."

Choji eagerly joined them at the table, covered in light condensation from working in the kitchen. His eyes held a ravenous gaze; these meals were the highlight of his month, and Shikamaru did not doubt he was particularly looking forward to this one after his near-death a week before.

_We all nearly died. Never again. I must get smarter. _

"You're looking almost back to normal." he said, gazing at his longtime friend.

"Hai, I feel strong again too!" Choji said excitedly, fidgeting in his seat.

"Let's hope our next mission together isn't so troublesome. No more fighting Orochimaru's minions or prison freaks eh?"

"You bet, Shikamaru." he replied, grinning madly.

As he spoke Choza returned from the kitchen carrying numerous plates. One of them full of mixed-grill meat was laid down in front of a paling Shikamaru. He would _never_ get used to how big the starters were, let alone the other courses. He looked over to his father again just as knocking came from the door. Instantly Shikaku stood up, head turned to the entrance. Choza hesitated for just a second when he looked at Shikaku's face, before heading to the door.

"You made it! Come in, starters are already on the table."

Back into the room he came, followed by the Yamanakas. Inoichi's face was already a sight to behold, now that he caught Shikaku's gaze, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.

_Just what is going on?_

"C'mon-ph Ino...food's gonna get cold." called out Choji, already chowing down some lamb.

Ino and her mother sat down. Shikamaru gave his female teammate a glance, and from the look she gave back, they both understood neither knew what had happened to their fathers. Inoichi just stood behind his chair, looking down, waiting for his lifelong friend to either sit down or speak. He did the latter.

"Are you going to tell them, or am I?" Shikaku growled.

Inoichi's grip on his chair tightened. He said nothing. The two mothers gave each other baffled looks.

"Tell us what?" asked Choji, reaching out for more lamb.

"Who says we should get involved?" said Choza, walking across the room to stand behind his son. "Asuma-san should be the one to tell them."

"We got involved when _one_ of us voted for the decision." Shikaku's eyes bore into Inoichi. "Danzo played you like a fiddle my friend."

"I'm sorry..." Inoichi finally responded. One of his hands went to Ino's shoulder. "I thought...I did what I thought best for my family. For all of ours." His voice was quiet, subdued, but still held some conviction.

"There was no danger from the boy. Danzo exaggerated everything." Shikaku's voice was rising though he maintained his calm exterior. Ino spoke up.

"I don't get it. What danger?" she said craning her neck back to look up at her father.

"I..."

"Last night there was a council meeting called at short notice." interrupted Shikaku. "We thought it was to do with Uchiha Sasuke joining the Sound. Turns out, the elders called for a vote on whether to exile a ninja from this village. Most of the clan heads voted no. Your father voted yes. We lost the vote and the exile is going ahead."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. It was almost unheard of for the Ino-Shika-Cho adults to disagree on anything after spending decades together.

"Which ninja?" asked Ino.

"He's your old classmate. Uzumaki Naruto."

In the next second, if you had dropped a senbon, the whole room would've heard it hit the floor.

_Fu-_

"WHATTTT!?"

* * *

**Ino**

Yamanaka Ino recoiled from the outburst made by Choji, right ear ringing. The lamb chop in his hands had dropped to the table and his jaw was agape.

"Calm down son" Choza said, putting his own hand on Choji's shoulder.

"Bu...but...why!?"

Exactly the thought going through her own mind. Uzumaki Naruto was a buffoon. A short-arse moron who sucked at the academy and got his kicks pranking other people. Sure, he'd surprised her hugely at the chuunin exams, but then he'd defied everyone's expectations. By now it was common knowledge among the teams that he had ridiculous chakra reserves, the lucky git. So a buffoon who was maybe becoming an okay ninja. But a danger to the village? No way. Her teammates had never had a problem with him. She looked over at Shikamaru, mouth also open and appearing as baffled as Ino could ever remember him being. He was watching the looks their fathers were giving each other, and they were awkward as hell.

"As far as details go Choji, that's all we're allowed to say. Anything else is classified." Shikaku replied gruffly.

Shikamaru quickly shut his eyes and brought his hands together.

_Looks like he's gone for the moment. Hope he figures this out._

She didn't need this. The last week had been devastating enough with the love of her life being taken by the Sound. Her main source of inspiration, the one she admired but could never get close to...gone. Just like that. At least her and Sakura were growing close again over the mutual loss.

_Gods...Sakura...she's gonna lose both her teammates. Gotta find her after this._

"Even if I'd voted no, the result would've been the same. Danzo had the Hyuuga and Sarutobi vote." Inochi was looking up now defiantly at his friends.

"That's not the point Inochi." countered Shikaku.

"What _is_ your problem with Naruto?" enquired Yoshino. "He's just a boy."

"Mmmm...Choji always speaks highly of him." Choza agreed. Choji mumbled in unison. Yoshino nodded while Ino glanced at her own mother, who hadn't said a word and just seemed resigned to let the whole debate wash over her.

"You saw what he was like in the finals of the exam. Danzo-san isn't playing anyone, he has a point! Think if he were to do that on a mission with my Ino...or your son. Think if he went further!"

"You underestimate the younger generation Inochi." replied Shikaku, placing his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, who's eyes opened. Slowly his hands fell to his side. Inochi hesitated, searching for a retort.

Ino thought back to Naruto's fight against Neji. Surely...this had something to do with the red chakra that had flowed from his body and enabled him a shock victory. Red chakra...was it that causing all this? And if so...why? Nothing dangerous had happened, Naruto had just moved faster. Frightenly faster. Oh yeah, and it had somehow repaired the damage done by Neji's jyuuken strikes. That was definitely something she'd never seen before.

"My daughter will blossom into a fine kunoichi of Konoha. One of the finest of her generation." He smiled down at her, and Ino instantly smiled back, full of confidence. She loved his compliments. He looked up again at Shikaku. "But right now I do not trust Naruto. None of us know for sure what _he_ will become."

Choza sighed as Shikaku narrowed his eyes.

"You are treading a _very_ thin line here. If the Hokage finds out-"

"Oi oi!" Choza spoke firmly, hitting the table with his fist. Everyone stopped to look at the normally gentle man. He reached out to grab a piece of pork and waved it at the group. "We came here to eat! Eating is what we will do! This food will all go to waste if you two keep arguing. Think of the kids-"

A loud knocking at the door interrupted the rant. Before Choza could move, Kiba barreled through the door. He was lightly sweating and gasping for breath.

"Thank the Gods...found you guys...need your help. Hinata's gone missing, she was supposed to show up for a Team 8 dinner but never came. The Hyuugas have gone berserk. Everyone's trying to reach the Hokage but...no-one can find her either!"

No-one in the room was sitting down anymore.

* * *

**Kakashi**

A ninja must be strong and ready for any situation. That was what being a jounin had taught him. A ninja must contain his emotions to the best of his abilities; strong feelings are a weakness. That was what being in the ANBU had taught him. Women are mysterious creatures that will baffle the mind and drive men insane. That was what Jiraiya's books had taught him.

None of these life lessons were really helping Hatake Kakashi right now, as he stood across from the last remaining member of his genin team.

After she'd spent the best part of ten minutes searching Naruto's apartment in tears, he'd taken her to a park bench and sat her down to recover. He wasn't completely sure how long that was going to take though; her head was still in her hands and drips occasionally fell from them to the floor. Kakashi noted the cruel similarity of her situation with his own at a close age from years past. At least he hadn't lost both his teammates in such a short space of time, though both of hers were still _alive_ at least. He didn't know if he was going to able to do anything to reverse the Council's choice, but if he couldn't, Sakura was going to have to do alot of growing up in the next few months. He straightened up from leaning on a nearby lamppost.

"Sakura."

"Hn...hai?" The pink mass of hair sniffed and stirred.

"I don't believe feeling sorry for yourself is what Naruto would want you to be doing right now." he said.

That might've done it. Sakura ceased trembling, rubbed her face with her arm, and looked up at him. Those green eyes were more striking than ever reflected by the pools of tears they sat in.

"I...I know he w-wouldn't Sensei."

He silently breathed a sigh of relief. Fighting enemy ninjas was easy. Embarrasingly so compared to this. Any wrong words here and he could screw his genin's young mind up for the foreseeable future, and he was secretly terrified of getting it wrong. He wasn't good at this. No wonder he didn't want kids.

_Remember...remember how Minato-sensei helped me._

She was looking at the floor again, eyes threatening to flood again.

"Look at me Sakura." he said gently, kneeling down to get closer to her eye level as she matched his. "I am as baffled by this decision as you are. Remember what I said though earlier. Tsunade-sama has taken Naruto to Otafuku City. He is not in any danger while under her care."

"It's just...s-so unfair Sensei. Tsunade-sama was go-going to teach me to...to be a m-medic-nin like her."

"I know. Maybe that will still happen. There's still time for this situation to be reversed. I will do everything I can to bring those three back."

"I...thank you...I don't get it though Sensei. W-why Naruto? He's just...he did nothing wrong to anyone."

Kakashi could take a good guess as to why. Obviously the Kyuubi's influence still held a massive shadow over the Council, not that he could tell Sakura that. Nor did it make his own vexation over the vote any less justified. Naruto had been a decent kid and an equally skilled ninja, and Kakashi had felt just a little bit proud having him on his team towards the end. He certainly hadn't expected to feel disappointed slightly knowing Jiraiya was going to train him for the next few years.

_Jiraiya...I wonder how he'll react._

"The official reason is that he failed to bring Sasuke back." he answered, knowing she'd hear the same story from others. No point lying about it. Of course her eyes widened upon hearing that name.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"He's gone Sakura. It's Naruto who deserves our attention now."

"I...I know." she said sniffing. "I just...I miss them both already..." To her credit she stood up, and wiped away more emerging tears. "What are you going to do?"

"Getting Jiraiya back would be a good start. He'd be the best mediator between the Council and Tsunade. If he can-"

"Excuse me Kakashi."

Yuhi Kurenai leaped down from a nearby building next to him.

"Hai?"

"I know this is a bad time but...I need your help. One of my team, Hyuuga Hinata has disappeared. Most of the jounin are out helping the Hyuugas with the search. Would you assist us?"

_Sigh...what a day. I'm gonna need a few glasses of sake in me by midnight._

* * *

**Danzo**

For the first time in many nights, Shimura Danzo was not reluctant to fall asleep.

His bedroom was barren, no posters or decorations or memorable photos anywhere, but it was better that way. This is a private place to sleep in, nothing more. No waste needed.

The bandages stayed on. He was so used to them now they were like a second skin to him. The rare times when he changed them alone he would feel strangely naked without them. Besides, the secrets they concealed needed to be covered up for protection.

Protection for anyone who crossed him openly naturally.

And yet only a week ago, a new enemy had revealed itself. One he could not hope to defeat in battle or assassinate from the shadows - his own mind.

The first night he'd had what could still be called somewhat a dream, as strange as it was. Odd shapes and floating figures that drifted in a thick fog. The other nights he had endured no less than true nightmares.

The last one had been by far the worst. It was as if the Gods themselves had pinpointed his worst fear and laid it out as a feast for his unconscious mind - a ruined Konoha. The Monument still stood, but the village it looked out on was no more. Instead, the Hokages gazed over a huge crater - as large as the village had been. What remained at the edges was rubble, faint remnants of old buildings...and bodies. Scores of bodies. Innocent lives crushed and swept away. What monstrous power had done this?

And then he saw. Right there in the centre of it all, the red beast. He knew what it was before his view had shifted in for a closer look - The Kyuubi. Not the huge creature that attacked the village years ago but perhaps still contained in its host, yet just as intent on destruction. Of course it had been responsible. There was no other greater source of raw power anywhere. And it was not alone. A lone figure - some unknown hero dressed in black but too far away to distinguish properly stood against it. Danzo could only wonder at this man's suicidal bravery briefly before the Kyuubi charged and the nightmare faded as quickly as it had started.

Danzo had woken up the next morning and tried to process all the information before it disappeared. Clearly these were not dreams, but messages. No...warnings. Premonitions of what was to come...a side effect of the implants in his arm? He'd have to look into that later. Now he would heed these warnings and do the impossible. He would change the future, and save Konoha from obliteration.

Sarutobi's ill-thoughtout plan had failed. To keep Naruto alive was smart; to let him roam unrestricted in the village without any kind of strict guidance was going to kill them all. Kakashi had been too wrapped up in the Uchiha's abilities to train Naruto properly. If he had been placed in Root from the beginning under his own teachings, the boy would've eventually become the greatest weapon Konoha could ever hope to yield, completely under his control. The other villages would've capitulated under a strong show of force, and for the first time...there would have been peace. A true world peace under Konoha's banner and an end to the fighting.

Far too late for that now though. The boy was twelve and already showing an alarming growth in strength. The warnings were right there during his Chuunin exam battle against the Hyuuga genius. The red chakra he'd used had been a signal that death was staring them all in the face, and what had the others done? Brushed it off as acceptable. That he would someday learn to control it.

Madness. For the sake of the village he would heed the warnings. And Naruto's failure to stop the Uchiha defecting would be the perfect scapegoat. Strange that he had lost the battle in the Valley of the End, but then who knew what had happened. No-one had witnessed it.

Summoning the two elders and getting them on board with the idea had been the easy part, though Utatane had shown initial reluctance. Her point about others being able to more easily seize control of the jinchuuriki had been countered easily by Mitokado's idea to have Jiraiya keep a close eye on the boy wherever he went. Danzo thought the plan was sound as Jiraiya rarely spent time in Konoha, had numerous agents spread throughout the Fire Country anyway, and had already shown he could protect Naruto from the 'Akatsuki Incident'.

Next came the hard part. Tsunade would not agree to exile Naruto in a million years, and that meant the Hokage had to be bypassed somehow. Tricky when the position held almost complete authority. Almost. A faint memory from his younger days surfaced, a conversation he and Sarutobi had had with the Nidaime. The elder had explained to the two teens how his brother had written up a safeguard law in case a future Hokage became tyrannical, whereby the Council and the Daiymo together could overrule and possibly despose them. Thankfully, no Hokage yet had gone mad with power, and so the rule had been largely forgotten.

Until now.

Everything that happened next went mostly according to plan. The letter requesting the seal of the Daiymo had been taken by Asuma, which killed two birds with one stone by removing his voice from the council. That was instead taken by his more easily swayed sister as the Sarutobi representative. In truth, Danzo wished he could've simplified matters by casting a genjutsu and convincing them all to vote his way, but Hyuuga Hiashi would've noticed the illusion, and possibly a few other clan heads would've too. No, it had to be the old-fashioned majority vote decision way, and with the elders on his side and the civilian business heads naturally bigoted through fear of the Kyuubi there too, the result should have gone his way. Of course his speech before the vote about the dangers of having the most powerful jinchuuriki roaming around next to their families on the verge of losing all control had certainly driven the point home.

If all the ninja clan heads had united in a 'no' vote, that might have seriously challenged his plan. To his fortune, those representing Sarutobi, Hyuuga and -surprisingly - Yamanaka had voted yes, and the decision was settled. Uzumaki Naruto had until three days time to leave Konoha for good. Ignoring the imminent arguments about to burst across the room, he'd called an end to the meeting and told the elders to wait until the Daiymo's seal of approval arrived before informing Tsunade. As he left the room, he'd similarly ignored a few death glares from those not in shouting matches with the businessmen.

The next morning only brought more conviction to his mind. It had been the first night in a week without nightmares. His plan was working, Konoha 'would' be saved. And yet here he was, slipping into bed, reminded why a ninja must never be complacent, even when the mission seems all-but won.

_Tsunade's departure is troubling. Her theft of 'those' items even more so._

He could not believe it when Utatane has said no-one had been watching the sealed room within the Tower. Yes, nobody could've predicted the village's own Hokage would loot the place, but to consider leaving no human security at all was incredibly frustrating. If only the village were run more like ROOT. Maybe in the future...

For now, Danzo needed all the peaceful sleep he could get. A long day lay ahead. There was a missing Hokage to deal with.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Alternative Chapter Titles - A Vote of Consequence / Danzo Spoils Shippuden Episode 167

Yup. And there's the split for this AU world. Looks like something gave Danzo the power of foresight.

**So that's why you left Yamanaka out in the last chapter. I thought you were just being forgetful. **

Hah. Very funny. Yes there was a reason for it.

**You sound bitter. Problem?**

Yes. A little. Despite best intentions I've been delving into some more fics and some of them leave me with a disappointed face. A lot of rushed character development and over-powering going on. Surely Naruto is relatable because he's not invincible...right?

And for the love of Jimmy-farking-Cricket, I've seen far too many spoilers while researching for this story. Narutopedia? Step forward in shame because you are guilty of spoiling deaths of certain characters in the _**first freaking** **line **_of their description. Why would you do this? Why? Is it really so hard to use present tense until the end of the page? Not everyone reads the manga. Don't look at their page for Rin either. Remember Rin? A character who appears in maybe 3 episodes? One of the biggest spoilers of the entire series is on her page. *facepalm*

A quick note on the whole Japanese vs English system I'll be using. Originally I was going to be using as little Japanese as possible. Then I realised I couldn't type Hinata saying "yes". It just felt _wrong_. So "hai" will be used, as will "no". Compromise! Similar deal with the jutsus. Japanese sounds better but not everyone will know what each one means, so it'll be the English translation followed by "jutsu" rather than "technique". Seems fair. Characters saying "mom/mum and dad" looks very weird aswell so it's Japanese for those. Also I'm trying to keep on the ball with all the various honourifics like -sama, -kun, etc, but expect the odd mistake as it's still early on.

And finally...I initially thought there weren't many popular Missing Hokage stories. Welp, recently stumbled upon two that are very _very_ popular, well over two thousand favourites for each. And I was thinking...I need a goal. An end-game. And as unlikely as it seems...my dream is to surpass both. To be the best Missing Hokage story on FF. Impossible? Maybe...just like how it's impossible for a certain orange-clad ninja to become Hokage...no?

Thanks for your time, please review.

Next Chapter: _**The Blue Moon Hotel **_


	4. Blue Moon

**Disclaimer:** The Naruto Universe is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. Many Bothans died to bring you this chapter.

* * *

Day 1

**Hinata**

The party of four stood taking in the sight of one of the largest civilian cities in the ninja world, let alone the Land of Fire. Due to Otafuku's relatively close proximity with Konoha, each had benefited greatly from strong bonds of trade, and though no ninja were officially based in Otafuku, many from Konoha used it as a brief respite from the confines of the ninja village while on missions.

From their position on an elevated hill near the outskirts, Hinata's eyes surveyed the city she'd only visited once briefly - on one of her first C-rank missions for Team 8. Even back then she'd been taken aback by just how alien a civilian population centre could feel compared to a hidden ninja village, especially one she'd spent almost all of her life in. Maybe she would have to adjust quickly; who knew how long she'd be staying here this time.

They weren't stationary for long as Tsunade ordered the three of them to continue forward. On the road from Konoha they'd seen the odd traveller or tradesman, but traffic had quickly increased as they approached the city. As a few passers-by gave the party smiles and the occasional wave, Hinata wondered how recognizable they would be. Tsunade was a Hokage after all and they were known and feared the world over, but she'd only been one for just over a month. Naruto was for unknown reasons generally disliked in Konoha, but what about in other places? From the rumours she'd heard from the other teams, he had a growing reputation as a likable figure and attitude-changer to those he met. They hadn't called it the Great Naruto Bridge for nothing. Honestly she wondered why it had taken people so long to see what she saw in him, the way his very nature lifted you from the depths, or the way he looked at you inspired you to try impossible things.

_Why is Konoha so different? He can't catch a break there..._

The only difference was the fact it was a ninja village, but how would that explain it? It made no sense to her. She could only wish people in cities like this would treat him better. At the very least he should be unknown enough to not warrant any attention.

And then there was herself. The Hyuuga eyes had a notoriety in some areas, and the whole no-pupils thing made them kinda hard to hide. Definitely something to bring up with Tsunade later; Hinata was all too aware of how valuable she would be in another village's hands. Suffice to say, this new 'kidnapping' wasn't as terrifying as the previous one. Not by a long shot.

_Will my family come for me again? I doubt it...Hanabi-niichan is the heir now._

She thought how much she'd miss her little sister. She was a beast in training despite her young age - fierce enough to nearly always over-power Hinata's defensive stances, but away from sparring and the direct gazes of the elders, the two sisters had had a solid relationship. With the lack of a motherly figure and their father usually busy with clan affairs, the two had supported each other mutually through the years. Hanabi certainly hadn't 'asked' to replace her elder sister. As the better fighter and more strong-willed of the two, she had simply been designated as the more appropriate choice.

Hanabi had been in her usual classes at the Academy when Hinata had left, and now she was the one person more than anyone Hinata had wished she'd said goodbye to.

"Hoy hoy...it's you!"

The four looked up at the random voice's source - a man leaning out of an upper-floor window pointing frantically.

_Oh no! We've been spotted already..._

"The Legendary Sucker! Back for more eh? Are you heading for the casino?!"

To her left, Naruto and Shizune groaned while Tsunade herself picked up a small stone and hurled it past the man's head by mere inches, leaving a small crater in the wall behind him.

"Does that answer your question!?" Tsunade yelled loudly enough to spook a flock of birds out of a nearby tree.

"Y-y-yes m'am!" the now very pale man replied and he closed his window and ducked out of sight.

"Hmph" sighed the Sannin as she walked on. "There's a hotel up ahead we'll be staying at for now."

_Such a close call..._

It would only take one person to recognize just a single member of their party to alert a Konoha ninja to their whereabouts if they came searching. But Tsunade wasn't making any obvious signs to hide their presence so...perhaps she wasn't planning to keep them in Otafuku for long. It was only a guess, but it made sense considering the city's closeness to Konoha. If her plan was to hide, they'd need to go further afield.

"Am I escorting a band of mutes? The silence from you is weird...especially _you_ motor-mouth." Tsunade said, gesturing towards Naruto. The short blonde still looked like he had alot on his mind and simply looked away while adjusting his backpack.

"Uh...w-why did that man call you the...t-that name?"

Hinata dearly hoped this question wasn't personal, but it was the only question she felt safe to ask out in the open. To her relief, Tsunade smirked before answering.

"Just a nickname I picked up in my travels. Let's just say I wasn't the _luckiest_ gambler."

"Mmm, she also drank sake like a fish, yeah. It wasn't a pretty sight." pipped in Naruto.

"I'll let that one slide brat since it's obviously not true. Right Shizune?"

Her apprentice looked up, sweat now in full view from her near-exhaustion.

"Tsunade-sama...Naruto-kun is...right...you do not...handle your...drink well." she said breathlessly.

"Boo!" exclaimed Tonton, now resting on one of the crates.

"What?!" Tsunade looked ready to kick something into orbit.

"Tsunade-sama...we're here..." Shizune managed to squeak out before collapsing back against the cart.

Hinata looked up at the building they were outside. It was decently-sized, maybe containing around twenty rooms on three floors. She rather liked the name the owner had given it - The Blue Moon Hotel - as she did the sign hanging above the entrance, a beautifully painted depictation of a blue-tinged moon over some far-away ocean. She felt some semblance of peace within her as she momentarily imagined being in such a place, free from all the usual troubles.

"Aha...excellent!"

The Sannin took one step towards the door before stopping. After a moment of hesitation, she turned to face the genin.

"Naruto. Hinata. I need to ask you to turn in your leaf headbands. As you both are from today no longer Konoha ninja, wearing them will bring unwanted attention."

Hinata figured that made sense as she reached around her neck and un-tied her headband. Naruto meanwhile stood defiant.

"No way Granny!"

"That's an order brat. Don't you dare make this into an issue."

"You don't know how hard I worked for this! It was a gift from Iruka-sensei...it was his..." The ire in his voice gave way to sentiment.

"I'm not asking you to destroy the damn thing! If it means that much to you I'll keep it stored safely. Deal?"

"...damnit..." Naruto grimaced as he _very_ reluctantly undid the knot on his own headband and along with Hinata passed it to the Sannin. Something then twigged in his brain and his eyes widened. He turned to Hinata.

"Wait! You're not a leaf-nin anymore? Were you kicked out too!?"

_Crud...uh...how do I explain it to him? What can I say? Don't stand there gawping..._

For a couple seconds that's exactly what she did as words completely failed her under the gaze of _those_ eyes. They were like pools of the bluest-blue imaginable. That oh-so familiar heat in her cheeks began to flare.

_How embarrassing..._

Luckily Tsunade came to her rescue, talking as she placed the headbands and the Hokage hat on the cart.

"Not exactly Naruto, and don't yell at the poor girl! It's complicated but you'll get the gist of it soon enough once we're settled and we explain it all. Shizune, you guard the cart while we sort out a couple rooms." she said to her clearly unconscious apprentice flopped over the cart.

"Hai, like that!" she grinned, before entering the hotel. Naruto and Hinata quickly followed. She had to admit, he did look strange without his forehead protector, though not any less...attractive. The way his hair now flopped almost over his eyes...

_Stop it...not the time...not the time...don't stare!_

The hotel foyer was a small and simple affair. A thirty-something woman with jet-black curly hair stood with a professional smile behind the reception, while a child who could've only been her daughter with similarly dark locks sat on top of the desk, legs dangling off the front. Upon seeing the two genin walk in, she rather ungracefully dropped to the floor and faced them.

"Hi! Welcome to the Blue Moon Hotel!" she said with a sickly sweet grin.

"Heh, cute kid you have there." Tsunade said addressing the woman.

"If only she were always that polite..." she said in the familiar-parenting tone. "Will you be wanting rooms?"

"Hai, could we get two-"

"My name's Lunashi Rikka, what's yours?" the girl asked the genin, drawing Hinata's attention away from the desk.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hyuuga Hinata." she said with a polite bow.

"Wow...cool names!" Rikka squealed with genuine enthusiasm. Naruto chuckled ever so slightly, which buoyed Hinata's spirits. Seemed like the girl had an infectious positivity, and Hinata would take anything that cheered Naruto up right now.

_I wish I could make him laugh. Psshh...yeah right. _

What could have spiralled into more self-loathing was fortunately broken by another question directly squarely at Naruto.

"Why are you wearing orange? Silly-billy!" she said staring before giggling madly.

"EHHH...?" Naruto paled.

Before he could formulate some kind of retort, Tsunade turned back to them, two sets of keys in hand.

"I'm done, follow me kiddos."

She strode back outside, twirling the keys around her finger. Hinata glanced at Naruto, who shrugged, made a face at Rikka and walked for the door, apparently eager to avoid more insults to his appearance.

"Ooooh...ooh! If you're visiting, go to the park! It's sooo pretty at night." Rikka exclaimed. Hinata swore the girl actually had sparkles in her eyes.

"Hai, I'll try to. Thank you." Hinata bowed once again and followed Naruto back outside.

Shizune appeared to have woken up from her brief nap though she didn't look anywhere near 100% recovered.

"What do you mean you 'need a drink' Tsunade-sama?" she asked, sounding like she already knew where this conversation was heading. Even Tonton looked resigned.

"Just a small one! Hey, could you get all this stuff to one of the rooms while I take these two into town?" she replied, chucking the keys to Shizune - who looked like she'd lost all will to live.

"WHAT?! All of it?!"

"It's fine, you've got storage scrolls in there somewhere right?"

"Ano...c-could N-naruto-kun use his clones to help?" Hinata suggested.

She did want to help out by putting forward ideas and it was _definitely not_ an ulterior motive to be surrounded by multiple Narutos. No way. Nope.

Before Naruto could even move his hands to make the seals, Tsunade lifted up her own in a warning gesture.

"Hold it. We're not in a ninja village anymore and a ninjutsu like that is...well you know...obvious. It'll make us that easier to remember by witnesses."

Hinata looked down in shame.

_Such an idiot...of course it's a bad idea. I shouldn't have said anything. And in front of Naruto-kun too...idiot._

"You can leave your stuff here, you won't need it. You both got kunai on you?" Tsunade asked.

They both murmured agreement as her and Naruto dropped their backpacks on the cart. He patted the pouch strapped to his leg.

"Yosh! I know this bar that sells super cheap sake, let's go!" Tsunade yelled excitedly while practically dragging the genin behind her by their clothes into the main part of town. Hinata could only watch Shizune left behind mouthing various naughty words and looking the very image of dejection.

"Oi Granny! We can walk y'know!"

Ten minutes later, Tsunade stopped in front of the bar she was seemingly after. The sign above the door read "Shushuya", and graffiti stood out on the walls. To Hinata the place looked seedier than a new garden, but if it was sought out by someone as worldly as Tsunade, it couldn't be all bad. Right?

The sun had by now dipped over below the surrounding buildings and had probably already set below the horizon. Light was fading sharpish and families in the street were increasingly scarce in place of adults, either alone or in small groups. Unease was definitely the main feeling Hinata was under right now; there was no way of telling if people were watching her behind her back. Well...apart from using the Byakugan, but that was certainly a non-option right now here in the street in plain sight..

"H-hokage-sama...are we e-even allowed in there?"

"Nope!" she replied with a cheery grin surprisingly. "Good news for me you're too young since I need half an hour of Tsunade time!"

"So what, we're supposed to stand here and wait while you embarrass yourself?" Naruto asked dryly.

Times like these Hinata could not believe how informally Naruto usually spoke to the Hokage, and equally couldn't conceive how she let him get away with it.

"Baka!"

_Mostly_ gets away with it Hinata re-thought as Naruto rubbed his head. That would hurt in the morning.

"You see that park over there?" Tsunade pointed across the street.

The two genin turned to see a lightly wooded area that had been planned and placed quite deliberately to interrupt the sea of buildings. Hinata thought she could see a small lake behind the trees.

_The park Rikka mentioned..._

"Hinata." She snapped back to look up at Tsunade. "Find a tree you can climb. Mask your presence as much as you can, and use your Byakugan to watch this area. If 'anyone' with a well-developed chakra system who you don't recognize enters this bar, go back and find Shizune immediately. She'll take it from there."

Hinata nodded. Tsunade turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, stay with her and guard her. If things get dicey, then you can use Kage Bunshin. Above all, _stay out of sight_. Got that?"

"Mm! You can count on me Granny!" he said, clenching a fist in front of his face. Tsunade sighed.

"Honestly I don't expect there to be any trouble so soon, so don't get carried away. Meet you back here in thirty minutes, now shoot."

A short walk later and the two genin had found an ideal tree to use. It was hidden from most of the street by other trees, and a thick branch below the leaf-line allowed for relatively comfortable sitting. It also conveniently featured a gorgeous view of the rest of the park, and Rikka hadn't been lying - the park was very pretty, especially with how the full moon reflected off the water. The area was mostly empty save for a few couples walking by the waterside.

Movement from Naruto next to her however reminded her of a very important fact. She was alone with him for the first time since the day of the Chuunin Exam finals.

_Alone with Naruto-kun...in a place like this?!_

Hinata was sorely torn between squealing and fainting, and it took most of her willpower to avoid either response.

"Err...Hinata?"

"H-hai?"

"The bar's...that way." he said with an expression that was hard to see in the darkness.

_Great...you're supposed to be watching for danger and you're instead admiring the scenery. Good job looking focused in front of Naruto-kun. _

"Ah! Umm..." she momentarily panicked, then performed the usual seal. "Byakugan!"

The world dissolved into a different colour palette as she turned around, but one Hinata was entirely familiar with. The blacks of trees were suddenly white as snow, while the air was filled with a very slight purple hue. Only the sky stayed dark, but now it was a hazy black devoid of starlight. People she could see illuminated by light in the street below were reduced to mere shadows, while those she couldn't originally see were now known to her, all by their revealing chakra systems inside their bodies. Even those couples behind her in the park she could now see, due to the Byakugan's 360 degree range. As she expected here, nearly everyone she picked out had weak chakra coils and thin pathways - nothing like you'd expect to see in a typical ninja. Only two were different - her kidnapper in the bar, and the boy next to her. Shizune must've been just out of her range, but that was always increasing with time. Past lessons from her family often talked about famous Hyuuga members who could pick out single targets from miles away, but they'd all been experienced adults.

She kept her focus on the street for two reasons. She wasn't going to let her Hokage down on her first unofficial mission, and it stopped her unconsciously zeroing-in on Naruto sitting ten feet away. She could _see_ him, but when you can see everything else around you too, you lose the details. Hinata was also aware of how her face looked when viewing the world like this, and she had no idea how much it put Naruto off her. It had to at least a little bit, who wouldn't be put off by it?

"Do you see anything?"

Hinata suddenly figured she had no idea how much time had passed since first scanning the street. Had she just done that in silence?

_No wonder he thinks I'm weird..._

"N-no...only c-citizens. N-no n-ninja."

"Phew...so we can relax huh?"

"Hai, I guess so."

"Man...I'm exhausted."

"Me too."

Though she replied automatically, now that she thought about it, she did feel drained - mentally at least. This was rapidly becoming the longest day of her life.

_It's not a dream. This is real. This is happening. _

What seemed like ten minutes passed in more silence. Hinata didn't feel so bad about it this time since Naruto obviously wasn't in a talkative mood. At least, that's what she guessed from seeing him sit there on the branch - one hand cupping his chin - probably deep in thought. Or boredom.

A strange idea came to her. Sitting outside in the dark like this had really driven home how she may not see her family, teammates, and sensei again for a long time, if at all. Her mouth acted before her brain could stop it.

"N-naruto-kun?"

"Mm?" He turned his head inquisitively.

"Ano...do you think it's okay to admit that you're s-scared?"

"You mean as a ninja?"

"Hai..."

Kurenai had already given Team 8 that particular talk months ago as part of their preparation for the Chuunin Exams - how it was perfectly natural to feel fear in certain situations. She'd then quoted one of her favourite authors by saying feeling afraid was also the only time you could feel brave - as the two emotions always walked hand-in-hand. The secret lay in overcoming the fear. Easier said than done though for an introvert like her. Regardless, she wanted the opinion of the person she thought most of, now more than ever.

"Hmmm...dunno" he said frowning in his amusing thinking expression. "I guess I was pretty afraid when Mizuki and the snake freako attacked me. That Orochimaru is nuts. Zabuza was kinda scary too..." he trailed off still thinking.

"B-but you still fought them right?"

"Well, I had to. Kakashi-sensei says those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash, so I had to protect them, yeah."

"Hai, I know you would." The last words barely made it out louder than a whisper.

"Honestly, if Granny wasn't here, I think I'd be pretty scared right now."

"Naruto...kun..." This time she turned her head to look at him. Maybe he wasn't so unlike her after all. Noticing the movement he looked at her from watching the floor way down below. Evidentially his eyes like hers had adjusted to the dark and could now see her to some degree, as this triggered another memory.

"Oooh! I remember being properly scared the day I fought Neji, on the way to the stadium. But _you_ helped me out Hinata! At the training posts! Remember? Nyeh?"

_Gods...I remember...I'll always remember the day you said you liked people like me._

"H-hai...I r-remember." Hinata dearly hoped the darkness was concealing the redness in her cheeks. Naruto was acknowledging her yet again.

She smiled at him, she couldn't help herself. He saw it and flashed a trademark grin right back.

_Nothing will beat this moment for a long time. _

Surprisingly to her, he was the one to drop the smile first. He'd realised where he was again.

"Not every day you get kicked out of your own village is it? I have the worst luck."

Another grin, but obviously a front, and accompanied by his hand scratching the back of his head.

"It's horrible w-what they did. I-I'd do anything if you could go back..."

"Eh? Anything, yeah?"

Now he was peering at her curiously with narrowed eyes. She definitely couldn't put up with that for long.

"I've dealt with alot of crap before now. With Granny here, I'll deal with this too. Don't worry about me Hinata." he continued.

_Even now Naruto-kun, you're confident things are going to be all right. Amazing..._

This was why she liked him so much. His light shone throughout. The unyielding optimism, the courage to find strength from nothing, and the words to make her see the world in ways she too often forgot about.

All things considered, Hinata was glad she hadn't blown their short time together by saying or doing something too stupid.

"There something on my face? Ack! Is it a bug?" His hands rapidly swatted away at his face and the rest of his body. Hinata flared. Oops, had she been staring?

_So much for not doing anything stupid._

Then Naruto did something _very_ unexpected. After thoroughly satisfied the non-existent bug had gone, he closed the distance between them as if he'd seen something unusual, and planted his face mere inches from hers.

"Uh...Hinata...where's your Byakugan gone? Your eyes look normal."

_Too close...too close...too close!_

Somewhen during the talk she'd dropped the technique and hadn't even noticed, so engrossed in Naruto's reactions.

_Too close...Naruto-kun..._

Her face burning and the odd sensation of falling were the last two feelings she had before her mind shut down and her world went black.

* * *

**Tsunade**

The Sannin excited the bar mightily pleased with herself. Only two bottles of sake had to be some kind of record for her. To imagine showing such restraint mere months ago was unthinkable. But of course, back then she hadn't had two kids to look after.

And she'd accomplished another small goal of hers - the secondary reason for coming here. The barman here was fairly old and slightly lecherous, but he was a familiar face in this city, a good man, and he would die before he would let something happen to one of his previously favourite customers. Now if any ninjas came in there asking after her group, she had a way to know about it. The question was really a matter of when, not if, someone would attempt to track them down, and knowing in hindsight who that was could mean all the difference between life and death.

She whistled in the general direction of the park in case the two genin hadn't seen her leave. To her bafflement, Naruto walked out from the trees carrying an unconscious Hinata in his arms. He wasn't in any rush or panic so she couldn't have been attacked surely?

_Nah...definitely not._

His own expression as he approached was rather like that of a kid trying to look innocent after being caught red-handed doing something unruly. It fitted him very well. She sighed while resisting the urge to smile. Hinata looked damn cute in that position.

"What on Earth did you _do_ brat? I leave you alone for half an hour and you knock her out?!"

"No no no! It wasn't my fault! She must've been ill or tired or something cause she just fell off the branch!"

"'Fell off the branch' eh?" she asked, giving him her best suspicious glare.

"Yeah, you should be thanking me! If I hadn't caught her, she'd have hit the ground!"

"Hah, if you say so kiddo. Set her legs down 'gently' but keep holding her upright. I'll deal with this."

He did so, and Tsunade clicked her fingers next to one of Hinata's ears while leaning down to speak in the other.

"Hi-Na-Ta! Wake up girl." She placed her hand on top of her head and moved it gently. Hinata's eyes slowly opened. "There we are. Welcome back Hinata, you did a fine job, I'm in one piece." she said grinning.

"Pfff...you wish you were..." Naruto murmured.

Suddenly Hinata cried out and scurried away a few steps from Naruto's hold on her shoulder. She stared at at the ground.

"Th-thank you Hokage-sama. Ano...sorry for worrying you. I'm f-fine now."

Naruto looked royally perplexed but seemed to shrug it off.

"We heading back now, yeah?"

The full moon drifted lazily overhead during the short walk back to the hotel. Only a few stragglers littered the streets this late. One particularly wasted man who attempted to hit on Tsunade with amusing and thoroughly painful results provided the only eventful distraction.

The young daughter had seemingly gone to bed but the mother was still manning the fort at the reception, and wished the three of them a good night's sleep as they trudged upstairs. Tsunade opened the door to room 11 to find the place covered with the various items they'd brought with them in erratic fashion. Tsunade decided she didn't want to know how some of the scrolls had ended up stuck to the ceiling. There was much less clutter than had been in the cart so the storage scrolls had definitely been put to good use.

She then glanced at her apprentice who had fallen fast asleep in a rather undignified position on one of the single beds.

"Great...another one." she muttered.

_I guess it would be too cruel to wake her up now, even for me. _

She walked over to the desk and grabbed the key to room 12. Hearing a quiet snort, she peeked under the bed and found out where Tonton was clearly spending the night. Smiling, she then sneaked back out of the room - picking up Naruto's backpack on the way - to where the genin were waiting, and unlocked room 12 opposite. Apart from actually being clean, it was identical to 11. Two single beds lay backed against the wall while the window at the far end provided a decent view of Otafuku City. Naruto immediately went and sprawled himself backwards on the nearest bed.

"Hey, not bad!"

Tsunade chucked his bag at him, walked over to the window and closed the curtains, while Hinata gingerly stood by the door with her backpack, not knowing exactly what to do with herself but staying _well_ away from the bed Naruto was on as if magnetically repelled by it. Tsunade considered telling the two of them now she was going to make them both chuunin, but decided to leave it until the morning, otherwise the over-excitable Naruto wasn't going to get any sleep. Likewise, she had something important to discuss with Hinata alone, but that would have to wait until Naruto was somewhere else occupied.

"Hinata. Would you mind sleeping in Room 11? I know the room's a mess but I'd rather eat snake than leave Naruto in there with so many valuable objects."

"Well why don't 'you' sleep in there then?" Naruto replied, clearly offended.

Tsunade's inner self laughed. He'd walked right into that one, the goon.

"And leave you two kids to sleep in here? That's not allowed, the hotel would have my head!"

"Ach! I didn't mean that! I take it back!" He looked absolutely horrified.

At the same time, Hinata had dashed out of the room, murmuring a tiny "g-g-good n-n-night" that Tsunade only just caught. She noticed the suspiciously red trail on the floor leading out and heard the door to Room 11 slam.

"Huh. She was tired earlier, yeah." Naruto remarked, staring after the door before yawning himself.

"Get some sleep yourself. Tomorrow's going to be another long day, we have plenty to do."

"Mmhmm." Naruto walked over to the bathroom with his backpack, but stopped with his hand on the door-frame, looking back at her. "So why is Hinata here? You said you'd tell me."

"What's the big deal? Don't you want company from someone your own age?"

"Yeah but...Sakura-chan was my teammate..." His eyes glazed over.

"Sakura isn't part of the most influential clan in Konoha. Hinata's father personally voted to exile you. Having his daughter here means he shouldn't do anything else stupid, if he knows what's good for his clan."

Naruto took a couple moments to process what she said and grunted in reluctant agreement, before walking into the bathroom.

While she waited for her turn, Tsunade unpacked her things and considered her next move.

_Staying here another day would be risky. Konoha may very well sent a hunting party after us tomorrow, if they can organize one that soon. They might not search here first, but it is almost certain they will. Who would they send...Kakashi and his dogs, or an Inuzuka for sure. Should try and mask our scents somehow. Maybe an Aburame. Probably a Hyuuga. That's if they're looking to negotiate. I doubt they'd try and kill us...but then I never saw that vote coming. Should consider every possibility now. What about the message to the council? Should try and throw them off as much as I can, make a statement. Cause chaos. I'm still the Hokage damnit! I'll use this power as much as I can for as long as I can. But how to send it? Can't use a random messenger, they'll be interrogated. Post would take too long and would be tracked back to here. Can't use Katsuyu..._

Tsunade thought the world of her slug summon, but sometimes the mobility of Kakashi's dogs and even Jiraiya's toads made her a teensy bit jealous.

She looked up as Naruto exited the bathroom in his night clothes. He looked very taken aback by the manic grin that slowly spread across her face in his direction.

_Hah...now there's an idea..._

* * *

**Naruto**

He just couldn't drift off. Back in the park when he'd told Hinata he was tired, he hadn't considered it was mental, not physical exhaustion. And yet still bits and pieces of thoughts drifted to forefront of his mind. Before he could get a grasp on one, another took its place.

Tsunade had fallen asleep some time before, how long exactly he didn't know, proved by the occasional snore from the bed to his left. As if that wasn't making falling asleep any easier. That evil look she'd given him earlier had him extra worried too. Whatever she was planning he _definitely_ didn't want to get involved with.

Maybe it was the bed...it was a little too comfy...nothing like the bed back home.

_Home...yeah...more like homeless. _

He shifted position for the third time, onto his left, thinking of Sakura. He never liked seeing her upset but in a weird way, hoped she would be upon learning of his fate. What of the rest of the Konoha 11? Barring Hinata of course...her words earlier had surprised him. Why would she do anything to help him that much? She barely knew him.

_Hah...she is weird. But she doesn't hit me and seems like a good listener. And she's awesome with her eyes, plus always knows something great to say. I guess I'd rather have her here than Shino or Kiba._

He thought about her question about being afraid. He'd said he was doing fairly okay, but was he lying to himself? Maybe he was more afraid than he was admitting.

_Urgh...enough of this._

He shifted again onto his back. There was nothing for it. Time for the number one tactic for putting him straight to sleep...technique. He mostly cleared his mind and thought back to one of his classes in the academy - Iruka's lesson on trade policies between the Five Great Countries. His old sensei's voice floated up from his memory banks.

_"...and as a result, the Land of Water now supplies the Land of Fire and other countries with fish in return for wood and carpentry, while the Land of Wind trades...Uzumaki Naruto! Are you asleep?!"_

_Zzzzzzz... _

* * *

**?**

The man awoke suddenly. It was still the middle of the night. It didn't look like his camp in the forest had been discovered. No...it had been the nightmare that had disturbed him enough to awake now.

He reached over and sipped from his water canteen, hoping to cool down from the uncomfortable heat he felt inside. The images he'd seen were not normal, not natural. If anything, it felt more like being put under a genjutsu. Should he consider the unthinkable - were these warnings of some kind?

If so, it made things infinitely more complicated. He glanced briefly at his cloak folded up next to the nearby tree. The red clouds were only just visible under the moonlight. He lay back down, and hoped his night wouldn't be disturbed further.

He fell asleep again quickly, while the unusually blue moon meandered across the sky.

TBC

* * *

Alternative Chapter Titles: The Blue Moon Hotel / A Night in Otafuku City / I Dreamed A Dream

**Author Notes:**

Yikes. This one kinda blossomed in size, but I suppose this is the rough length of each chapter I should be aiming for.

**Oi, the chapter title is different! What gives?**

True...but I expanded the chapter out from the hotel and it'll appear again so I figured I'd chop it out of the title. This may happen again since I might think of a better title than the one I suggest at the end of the previous entry.

**Summer's approaching. What about that new schedule you mentioned?**

Indeed. Now that the academic year is over, I really have no excuses to not work on this story often, so...my aim - my AIM - is a new chapter every fortnight, or 2.5 every month-ish. Definitely 2 every month.

Pretty happy with this chapter I guess. If there's _**one**_ element that I want to be spot-on and consistent throughout, it's the dialogue between Hinata and Naruto. Even going back over the drafts, half the time I was happy with their tree conversation, and the other half I had a nagging feeling something was missing. Decided to go with the former and hope for the best.

The other thing I'm really trying to do is to keep the characters as close as possible to their respective canon counterparts. Those two popular Missing Hokage stories I mentioned in the last notes? Hinata and Shizune acting _very_ OOC almost put me off one but I'm sticking with it for now, while the other had some unnecessary sealing BS on Naruto that I couldn't get past. He doesn't need an excuse to be a buffoon at that age, or to be overpowered. He's Kage-level in canon _right now_, he doesn't need boosting! On the other hand, most of the dialogue and detail in those stories is _fantastic_ and probably far surpasses my own so who am I to complain? ^^

Alot of fics I've read tend to lose the humour of Naruto too and are very 'SERIOUS BUSINESS', which is a shame because comedy makes these things far more fun to write, and read. And Tsunade and Shizune in particular just ooze comedy. Very fun to write I'm finding.

You've probably noticed there's been very little jutsu used yet, and not a single fight, which is pretty bad I know. This will change I assure you.

**You're rambling. Get on with it - the reviewer shoutouts?**

Yeah yeah.

Firstly, thanks to Midnight-TAoD for pointing out a horrid mistake in the last chapter. Glad to hear that Fher34 agrees with the notes posted in the prologue. Hope you enjoy the rest! And a most unexpected thank you to Secondpillow for reviewing. If anyone has not read his Harry Potter fanfic yet, stop what you are doing and go find it. You will come away feeling like you've traversed multiple dimensions and witnessed true beauty. It's just that mind-blowing.

Next Chapter: _**The Missing**** Hokage **_(Ooooh original, and we finally move on from Day 1!)

How will Konoha cope waking up to a village without Tsunade? Who is the mysterious dreaming figure in the forest who I may or may not have inserted at the last possible minute via desperate inspiration? And will anyone recognize the various references peppered throughout the chapters?

Stay tuned. Next chapter expected to land around **May 10th**.


	5. The Missing Hokage

**Disclaimer:**The Naruto Universe is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. It's not mine because I can't keep to deadlines...or remember what the right month is apparently. ._.

**Day 1 Patch! - **General typos amended. Couple lines added for flow.

* * *

Day 2

**Kurenai**

Of all the mornings to wake up with a hangover, this was definitely not one of the best, Kurenai thought with some degree of sympathy for Kakashi standing next to her. After the search for her student had been called off temporarily the night before, he'd headed straight to the bar district. And now here he was, on the morning after, doing his very best to stand straight and not _quite_ succeeding. Plus, he was visibly wincing often as the entire room was full of anxious chatter.

She herself definitely hadn't anticipating waking up to find a village on the verge on chaos.

When the usual call had gone out for all available jonin to meet up early that morning, she'd expected an updated plan or decision concerning Hyuuga Hinata.

Evening was drawing in the day before by the time Hinata's latest scent had been traced by her team to the main gate. Kiba and Akamaru's noses were uncannily sensitive but in a village _full_ of scents, they quite understandably had had trouble nailing down their teammate's individual smell. It was only after Shino had joined the search and used his male bugs to follow the scent trail of the female placed on Hinata (when that had happened, or if Shino had placed one on Kurenai herself, she didn't want to know), that the combined effort paid off. Sometimes having a team dedicated to tracking and reconnaissance _really_ paid off.

Kotetsu and Izumo - the two gatekeepers - merely confirmed Kurenai's worst fears - that Hinata _had_ left along with the absconded Uzumaki Naruto. She knew the girl had a steep crush on the kid, but enough for her to leave her family and friends behind? She was smarter than most gave her credit for and this seemed like a massive step too far for her.

Kotetsu quickly confirmed her suspicions of there being more to it by revealing Tsunade's hand in the endeavour. From the looks of it, the Hokage had kidnapped her student.

_Hokage-sama...what are you playing at?! She was not yours to take. _

After convincing a manic Kiba that there was no chance she or the gatekeepers were going to let him pass to continue tracking the scent, she'd sent him and Shino home. Obviously, if the Hokage was personally involved, this was out of their depths. Maybe even her own. Still, she'd followed up by informing one of the ANBU of the new information. By extension, the council would've known within half an hour. She'd briefly considered finding Hyuuga Hiashi to inform him too but she still couldn't much stomach the man. Not after what he did, despite the benefits the action was having on her student.

What she'd walked into at the Hokage Tower this morning was a full blown council meeting, involving not just the elders, clan heads and civilian business representatives, but available jonin and what seemed like most of the ANBU too. In fact there were so many, Kurenai suspected at least a couple were Danzo's own bodyguards.

There was only one notable absence - the Hokage herself. Surely only she could've called a meeting of this calibre? The village hadn't seen anything like this since the Uchiha massacre.

Asuma had met Kurenai at the tower entrance. He'd seemed just as nonplussed as her when they'd walked in to find a large crowd being directive towards the mission room, but bless him, he'd still tried to act all cool about it.

_Just like him. Don't ever change, Asuma._

Once inside the huge mission room used to plan large-scale operations, the crowd had - with some guidance - rearranged itself into some degree of order. At least each social or ranking group was now relatively separate from each other. ANBU members meanwhile lined up against the walls, as impassive as they always were.

The last people to enter were the three elders, with no Tsunade in sight. Homura and Koharu took position at the head of the room, while Danzo wandered over to the corner. His disinterested gaze over the crowd annoyed her.

_Not going to speak then? Just like you you rat. _

"Residents of Konohagakure, may we have your attention?" Koharu began, strong in voice despite her advanced age. She paused while the last vestiges of muttering died out.

"For those who do not know, recent information has given us a likely lead on the whereabouts of Hyuuga Hinata-"

"What...! Why was I not informed at once?!"

Kurenai knew the interrupter from voice alone - Hiashi. It wasn't the reaction she'd have expected from the man who'd passed the responsibility of training his "worthless" daughter onto her personally. The arrogance was still there but so was something else. Surely not concern?

_How could you only notice her true worth when she's not around?_

"This information is _very _recent Hiashi-san, even to us. Hinata we believe is currently with the exiled Uzumaki Naruto, in Otafuku City."

As the room filled with hushed murmers, Kurenai resisted the urge to roll her eyes. A small lie they were telling perhaps, but to discredit the effort of her team just so they and Danzo could spend time behind closed doors scheming by themselves wasn't right. It was almost insulting really.

Naruto's name certainly provoked reactions among the crowd. Hiashi's visibly stiffened though as he stood close to the front, Kurenai could not see his expression. Kakashi stood a little straighter too, as much as he could.

"Has the Hokage been informed?"

That came from Inoichi. Kurenai thought it strange how he was standing apart from his closest friends.

Homura shook his head.

"No. That's the other thing to tell you. It appears that the Hokage left Konoha deliberately _with_ those two, along with Shizune. She apparently told no-one of this before, and has given no indication of how long she intends to be away."

Kakashi definitely stiffened during that part.

_He knows something..._

Asuma asked the next question, one that was on Kurenai's mind too.

"How certain is it she will return?"

More whispers broke out at that, especially among the jonin and clan heads.

"Tsunade is the Fifth, granddaughter of the First. She would not abandon a village she has such close ties too." Koharu replied convincingly, appeasing some of the crowd.

"We can only guess that due to her familiarity with the Uzumaki boy, she intends to settle him down personally somewhere nearby." she continued.

"Urm...w-what about that rumour that she took most of the t-treasury's funds?" came a voice from one of the business civilians. Most likely a banker given the worry in his voice.

The two elders barely managed to hide looks of well-practiced displeasure. No doubt that was a topic they'd hoped wouldn't come up today.

"We have no comment on that, other than the village has more than enough ryo to keep up with. Current missions are still in effect. For now, we carry on as normal." Homura stated.

"But new missions are off right, since they need the Hokage's approval?" Kurenai whispered to Asuma.

"Mm. Shikamaru will be happy with that though. He's still moaning about the responsibilities of being a chuunin." he whispered back. "I wouldn't complain much if Tsunade didn't return for a week either. Would you?"

She saw his playful look out of the corner of her eye but resisted the urge to meet it, rolling her own instead.

_For the sake of the Gods man, if you want to ask me to the hot springs already, just do it. We both know you want to, and I'm not going to ask you. _

"Shouldn't you be taking this more seriously?" Kakashi whispered _very_ quietly at them.

_Says the man who obviously got rat-faced last night. _

The elders had moved on, now giving predictable advice like ensuring life went on as normal during this time. Guy was fidgeting slightly.

"I smell a rat. Something seems off." he hissed, frowning heavily. Keeping his voice below shouting level had always been an ordeal for him.

"Whatever they're planning, I just want my student back."

"You and me both." muttered Kakashi, clutching his head again.

The congregation only lasted another twenty minutes, with the elders answering questions mostly from the businessmen and Hiashi.

"That is all for now. Everyone can leave except for Hyuuga Hiashi, Hatake Kakashi and Yuhi Kurenai."

"Meet you outside after?" Asuma asked. She nodded back in reply. She wanted to smile, to seem grateful, but couldn't muster it. As he left with the crowd, she considered whether she should ask him after all, tradition be damned.

With the space now empty, she and Kakashi walked to the front. She considered it a lucky thing that Kakashi happened to stand between her and Hiashi, though much closer to her. Danzo hadn't left, nor had two of the ANBU - almost certainly his bodyguards.

"Our apologies, but we felt required to remind you of the necessity to not take matters into your own hands. Please entrust us to retrieve Hinata." Koharu stated to the three of them.

Hiashi was clearly not a happy bunny. Kurenai knew though he would be the last person to have an emotional outburst at his superiors. And whatever differences they had, the two of them were united in wanting Hinata back.

"Forgive me for saying, but the security in this village is atrocious. I refuse to believe she was allowed to be taken so easily in plain sight." he said bluntly.

He hadn't mentioned the previous kidnapping attempt that resulted in the death of his brother, but the implication was there. For the first time in a long time, Kurenai felt some sympathy for the man.

For her to be abducted - successfully this time - would mean Hizashi died in vain.

"Your surprise is shared by us all Hiashi-san. The guards however made it...very clear that stopping Tsunade was not an option." Koharu replied.

"And yet you said she wanted to leave with the fox child. The boy who _we_ decided to exile-"

"That decision was necessary." Danzo spoke up for the first time, interrupting Hiashi.

"I'm standing right here."said Kakashi. "That boy is my student-"

"_Was_ your student." Danzo shot back firmly. "That jinchuriki is no longer Konoha's responsibility.

Kurenai wondered if Kakashi would've retorted had he been not still recovering. As it was he chose to bite his tongue. That was his ANBU experience right there. Did those two have history? Kakashi hadn't been in ROOT but still must've dealt with Danzo on occasion. And he had left the ANBU for _some_ reason after all.

It was time to speak up and defuse the situation before it deteriorated.

"I agree to leave the retrieval of my student to you, but I also believe exiling Naruto was a mistake."

_Not like I have any real choice in the matter. _

"The boy is no longer our concern." Hiashi said bluntly to her before addressing the elders again. "I still do not understand _why_ she took my daughter. The Hokage has no use for her eyes, and I cannot imagine she would let another village take her."

"Your guess is as good as ours. Did Hinata have alot of exposure to Tsunade recently?" asked Homura.

"Not...that I know of." Hiashi replied.

Kurenai wondered if he knew anything about Hinata's daily life.

"Beyond a couple mission briefs and de-briefs, I don't think so." she said. "They can't have met more than a few times."

"My my...what a puzzle." sighed Koharu.

"So, are we all in understanding?" prompted Homura.

"Hai." Kurenai and Hiashi answered together. The jonin between them had not spoken.

"And you Kakashi?"

_Yikes...if looks could kill._

One of the things Kurenai learned that day was that you _can_ give someone effective evils with just one eye.

"If the Fourth were alive, he'd kill you for treating his son like this."

Much like the fact Naruto was the container of the Kyuubi was an open secret among the adults, so was the knowledge he was the son of Minato Namikaze. After all, with that hair, you'd have to be pretty thick not to make the connection.

"But he isn't, and you're living in the past. It is time to look to Kohona's future."

Danzo's words were slow and gave away no indication of spite or anger, or much of anything.

"Naruto _is_ Konoha's future." Kakashi turned away. "Didn't you hear? He's going to be Hokage one day." And with that he walked away and out of the door. Kurenai wished he could've seen Danzo's extremely sour expression, but she didn't want to see her friend being 'entertained' by Ibiki.

"Please excuse him, honourable elders. He's had a uh...rough night."

"We may be old but we're not senile. We know how to deal with Kakashi. We'll keep him busy over the next few weeks. The last thing we need is a repeat of that nasty business with his father." Koharu stated, not unkindly. Her partner nodded.

"Mm. Obviously Team Seven cannot continue with just one genin. It would be best to move the Haruno girl elsewhere and reinstate Kakashi into the ANBU, where his talents are best served."

_Good luck with that._

"Anyway, that should be everything. If we are all clear, you are free to go."

"I insist on daily reports directed to myself. And if there is _ever_ a sign my daughter is in danger, you come to me first."

It was a request bold enough to earn Kurenai's attention. Hiashi's expression was one of frightening resolve and determination. She could almost believe that would he be given complete free reign, he could rescue Hinata single-handed. Had she really misjudged him all this time? Or had he truely changed after the Chuunin exams? Knowing Hiashi, the answer was never going to be simple. For all she actually knew, he still might be more concerned about securing the Byakugan rather than Hinata.

"Of course Hiashi-san." complied Koharu. "Is that all?"

Kurenai and Hiashi bowed and left together, leaving behind the elders to their devices. As she followed him out the door, a very strange idea occurred to her. Before today, she'd have never considered talking to Hiashi alone casually, much less offering him anything, but these were unusual circumstances indeed. As he was about to walk down the hall away to the exit, she went for it.

"Hiashi."

She left off the honorific more to grab his attention than anything else, as she knew it would. Plus, he wasn't going to say goodbye to her just then, and respect is a two-way street.

He turned around and frowned, not saying a word. His look was steely and Kurenai immediatley recalled similarities to the gaze of a ticked-off academy teacher. She hadn't been a prankster or troublemaker back then but she'd received a few personal lectures for occasionally stepping out of line.

It was now or never.

"If you ever need assistance in retrieving Hinata, please don't hesitate to call on me, or my students. Not just because we form one of the best tracking units, but because we'd all risk our lives in getting her back."

_Strong actions require strong words._

Pale white eyes watched the reds of her own while his face remained unchanged. She was about to say something more to break the silence but he beat her to it.

"I see." he said, turning away. "Thank you."

And much like Kakashi had done, he wandered away without a second look back.

_Huh..._

True to his word, Asuma leaned on the wall outside as she emerged into the late morning sun. The cigarette in his mouth had been dragged down to it's last few centimetres. Though he didn't smile, just the sight of him calmed her down.

"What was that all about?"

"The elders just want to make sure we don't do anything hasty on our own."

"Ah..." He took a last puff and flicked away the butt. "Y'know if you were on the council I bet all this mess would be sorted by now."

"If _you_ were on the council it probably wouldn't have even started." She lamented. "I just asked Hiashi personally to call on my team if he needed it."

"Really? How'd that go?" The vaguest hint of a smile appeared on his face. No doubt he was picturing the reaction.

"I can't decide if it went better or worse than I expected..." she sighed. "He thanked me at least."

"Hmm...you want to grab some lunch before team training?"

"Sure, I'd like that."

For the first time that day a smile crept onto her face. He remained close to her side as they walked into town together.

_Don't ever change Asuma. Well..._

She snuck a look at the side of his face.

_Except for the beard. You always looked better without it._

* * *

**Neji**

_2 strikes...4 strikes...8 strikes..._

His left hand struck out...then his right. With each alternation, a different point was struck.

_16 strikes..._

To a casual observer, his hands would be a blur of motion, and he wasn't even practising at battle speed. This was the 18th time he'd run through the technique this morning, and each time he'd increased his speed gradually. Rushing this technique encouraged sloppiness - and geniuses were not sloppy.

_32 strikes..._

His left hand went to the dummy's neck, the two outstretched fingers made contact - closing off the imaginary chakra point near the throat. He shifted his balance to the right as the next strikes connected with the arm. Then the other.

_64 strikes!_

The final two hits connected dead centre in the chest, narrowly avoiding the chakra point just inches away to the right. Hitting that point - the heart node - would mean almost certain death to the opponent, and in certain cases, taking an enemy ninja alive could reap untold benefits.

Neji stood back and composed himself, exhaling moderately. A single sweat bead by his brow threatened to drop to the ground. Technically, this was purely taijutsu as he wasn't expelling chakra through his own nodes. He had long ago mastered the correct amount of chakra to use, but the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms equally demanded colossal skill in posture, movement and speed, and there was always room for improvement there. All paths of the Gentle Fist require constant practice, and he had been out through injury for the past week. Even though he'd lost his bandages, his full flexibility of movement had still not quite recovered, and the doctor had warned him to ease himself back into training slowly. Only two weeks ago he run through this exercise fifty times in a row.

The training was also taking his mind off the fact he wasn't supposed to be doing it alone.

Suddenly sensing something, and expanding the range of his Byakugan, he noticed the familiar figure of his uncle walking through the Hyuuga gate.

_News._

Immediately abandoning the training dummy, Neji paced inside the Hyuuga building, to await Hiashi in the meeting room. By the way the clan head entered wearing an all too familiar frown, Neji sumised the morning meeting hadn't borne fruitful results. As per protocol for a branch member, he bowed before speaking.

"What news, ojisama?"

"It appears that our beloved Hokage has taken Hinata to Otafuku. With that damn Uzumaki."

"Naruto?"

The boy whose victory had changed everything for the young Hyuuga. Before the exam, Neji had hated almost everything about his life. His only comfort had been his exceptional talent as a ninja, and even that clashed with his family standing. It had taken that knockout uppercut from Naruto's bloody fist to finally drive the message home that maybe...destiny wasn't all it was cracked up to be. And perhaps, Hinata wasn't as weak as she seemed.

If Neji had had a strong opinion on his uncle voting to exile Naruto, he didn't remember it, now that Hinata's disappearance was dominating everything.

"Hai, him." Hiashi ran his hand through his hair. "I swear, that kid has meddled far too much into Hyuuga affairs lately. That business at the chuunin exam, then you nearly died trying to rescue his teammate...and now this."

"I do not regret anything he has done, ojisama. In fact, I am grateful."

It was a bold enough answer to draw a slight curious look from Hiashi.

"Otosama!"

Hanabi emerged from the hallway leading to her bedroom. She usually held an air of confidence that matched Neji. Not today. He noticed the faint stains of red around her eyes.

Hiashi looked solemnly at his youngest for a moment before turning back to Neji.

"If you would kindly excuse us, oi. We can discuss matters later."

Neji nodded and bowed again before leaving, glad to give his cousin and uncle the time alone they needed. Furthermore, he didn't want to be late to team training that afternoon, and still hadn't eaten lunch. As he neared the kitchen, he stopped in his tracks, realising what Hiashi had just said.

_Oi..._

For the first time that Neji could remember, Hiashi had specifically called him his nephew.

* * *

"Hey Neji...are you okay?"

Tenten's pose relaxed ever-so slightly as she shot a look of concern at him, while still gripping her bo staff defensively. Neji lowered the blunted kunai he was using to test Tenten's defensive skills and sighed. She was definitely getting better, and the staff wasn't even her favourite weapon.

"I'm-"

"HA!" came a scream to his left.

Lee's fist connected with their sensei's shoulder. Far from being knocked back, a huge grin broke on his face. Lee didn't stop, aiming more punches and a flurry of kicks at Might Guy, who blocked them all.

His train of thought lost, Neji could only stare back neutrally at Tenten. She knew the Hinata situation anyway, they all did.

Forming a tighter grip on the kunai, he prepared to lunge again at Tenten. If he caught her off-balance, it would serve as a vital reminder for her to always keep her vigilance. As he took his first step though, a familiar pain tore through his chest. Stumbling, he crashed down onto his knees and gripped helplessly at the area where the arrow had pierced his torso. Tenten dropped her staff and rushed over.

"Neji!"

Teeth gritted and eyes closed, he could only wait until the agony receded. Evidentially Lee must've somehow heard during his sparring as Neji could hear him also approaching.

"Yo Neji, you alright?"

This position was helping. He could already feel the pain slipping away. He opened his eyes to catch disturbed looks from his teammates.

"Your dedication is admirable my young student, but to come back so soon was always going to be risky. Do not forget, Lee was out for longer than you with far less severe injuries."

Neji took a few deep breaths to try and drive away the last of the discomfort. Guy was out of his vision but he didn't need to see him to deliver his reply.

"Nngh...I'm fine...I just...strained something..."

_"...never give up..."_

Taking a few more moments - pushing the memory away - he managed to straighten up onto his feet. It wasn't as steady a manoeuvre as he would've liked.

"Your training is over for the day."

Neji shot his sensei a dirty look. For just a moment, anger he so often managed to suppress emerged.

"I need to train! If Hinata-sama is in danger-"

_"...you have no confidence..."_

"Hinata is a kunoichi of the Leaf, and I have full faith in her ability to defend herself! More than that, she is in the company of our great Hokage, and the youthful spirit who knocked _you_ out of the chuunin exam! The way I hear it, she's in no danger at all."

His booming voice rocked over the training ground. Every single word he delivered was packed with confidence and Neji knew he couldn't doubt him. Indeed he still woke up some days not quite believing the dead last had bested him one-on-one. Certainly he couldn't understand how the Gentle Fist style had been ineffective.

_But still..._

"So you're not concerned about any of this, Guy-sensei?" He purposely ignored the looks from his teammates as he stared at the jonin.

"Something is amiss, but I doubt the problem lies with our Hokage. Have faith that Lady Tsunade has the village's best interests at heart. If I were you, I'd be mad at those _very_ un-youthful souls who wanted to discard such a passionate shinobi."

"Guy-sensei!" yelled Tenten.

Might Guy being typically tactless was one thing but openly criticising the council elders was just as unheard of as bad-mouthing the Hokage. Usually a ninja had to be dead drunk to be able to get away with it. Maybe Tenten also knew their mentor moreover had indirectly critisized Hiashi. Either way, she didn't look impressed with Guy at all. Rock Lee meanwhile stared blankly for a second.

"You mean Naruto-kun?"

"Naruto...why does it always come back to him?!" Neji grouched at no-one in particular, bitter at both of the green-clad ninja.

_Does no-one care about Hinata-sama?_

"Neji..."

Tenten's quiet call of concern he'd heard many times before. He couldn't be doing with her, or any of this at the moment. He stood straight and locked eyes with his mentor.

"You are right Guy-sensei. My training is over for now."

"Neji." Guy replied before he could turn away. "Never be afraid to call on us for support. Whenever you need it, we're right behind you."

And to Neji's surprise, Guy gave him a thumbs up. Usually he gave those to Lee with a stupid and ridiculous grin, but here, Guy's closed smile gave off impressions of understanding. After a couple seconds, Lee noticed and mimicked the gesture, breaking out into a dumber smile of his own.

"Hai!"

Neji could only mumble an acknowledgement and nod, before turning to leave the training area. He didn't need the Byakugan to know the three were watching him intently, but he could care less about that.

A stiff breeze was now flowing, taking the sting out of the mid-afternoon heat as Neji trudged from the company of trees to the familiar streets. He couldn't help but replay Guy's last statement in his mind.

_They don't understand. It is a Hyuuga matter. Only the Hyuuga can solve it. _

At the very least, the situation was far too delicate for either Guy or Lee to get anywhere near. Those two had the capacity to cause diplomatic incidents far more than anyone else he knew. As for Tenten...well...

_Hmm..._

There wasn't really a reason not to trust Tenten. It was more of a wanting to not get her involved. The Hyuuga clan would get Hinata back, and whatever the elders decided, he would be there at the forefront. She deserved nothing less than that.

_"...deep inside...you just want to run away..."_

He had been wrong about her. She wasn't weak at all. To stand and fight as ferociously as she'd done after the verbal crushing he'd laid on her in their match-up only seemed more and more miraculous every time he thought back to it. It was the one memory that continued to plague him.

_"...brother Neji...we fight!"_

The Hyuuga clan _needed_ Hinata. He saw that now. And though he didn't know what the Hokage had taken her for, he suspected it wasn't for innocent reasons. He had to prepare for the worst.

_Hinata-sama...I will get you back. This I swear, on the honour of my clan...and my own. _

Focusing on his own thoughts, he nearly missed seeing a familiar pink-haired kunoichi ahead of him.

_And maybe..._

_"...YOU __**CAN**__!"_

_So long as you haven't touched Hinata-sama..._

_"...I told you before...you're definitely going down..."_

_I'll get you back too...Naruto. _

The pink mass shifted and jade eyes suddenly locked onto his own.

* * *

**Kiba**

Inuzuka Kiba pelted towards his team's training area, Akamaru hanging onto his hood for dear life. He didn't quite manage to dodge a shopper, who yelled after him, rubbing his knocked arm.

_Kurenai-sensei...please...have good news._..

Shops and houses gradually made way for trees and grassy areas as Kiba kept up the pace. He didn't care if he was wasting energy, he needed to know as soon as possible.

"Yap! Yap yap!"

"I know I know...I can smell her too!"

His enhanced smell told him Kurenai was waiting next to the small lake two minutes before he got there. It helped that out here there were far less conflicting smells.

_If only I'd been so lucky yesterday...damnit! _

It was like the entire world was falling apart around him. Three of his fellow classmates, and the Hokage, gone in what seemed to be the blink of an eye. Sasuke he'd never really known, but had fought to get back all the same. Naruto - an on-and-off friend - who'd knocked him out of the chuunin exams embarrassingly, had been booted out of the village. And the kindest and most enduring girl he'd ever known...Hinata. If there was anyone who didn't deserve to get caught up in chaos, it was her. No-one on Team 8 was blind enough to not recognize the shy girl had her own internal conflicts to deal with, let alone something like this. If only he hadn't taken so long to track down her scent...

_If only..._

He tore around the corner into the open clearing, immediately noticing his sensei standing by the lake's edge, seemingly staring into space across the water.

"Kurenai-sensei!"

He slowed to a jog as the jonin turned to face him with a completely neutral expression. Her game face. He knew it well, and in that moment, he knew deep down the words he was about to hear weren't gonna be good.

"What's going on? Is the Hokage bringing Hinata back?" he asked as he ground to a halt directly in front of her. The slight breeze that had picked up skimming across the water's surface and through the trees filled the brief silence that followed. A flock of birds somewhere nearby were chirping happily.

"I'd like you to settle down for a moment and wait for Shino. It's best I tell you both together." she said with alarming calmness.

"Just tell me!"

"Kiba...please...calm yourself. I have genjutsu and I'm not afraid to use it."

_Ohhhh crap..._

He knew from training just how effective those ruby eyes could be. Akamaru whined in agreement. Kiba chose reluctant patience over pushing his teacher any further. Thankfully, he only had to sulk for a few minutes before Shino's clear scent materialized. He emerged from the same way Kiba had done a minute later. He was shocked Shino still looked as uninterested as he always did.

_Am I the only one who gives a damn...no...he gave just as much as I did yesterday. Shino is Shino._

"Oi! Could you hurry up?" Kiba called over to him.

"I am not late. You are early." Shino deadpanned.

"Whatever." He spun around and gave Kurenai a desperate look. He clearly heard Shino stepping next to him.

"I'll get right into it. So far as the village knows, Hinata is not in any danger. That is the most important thing." she stated impassively.

"The Hokage's bringing her back, right?" he asked at a volume louder than he intended.

Kurenai stared down at him, her hair swaying in the breeze.

"That's the bad news. The elders don't know what the Hokage is doing, or why she took Hinata."

"What the-"

"Rest assured, they'll be doing everything in their power to look into it. For now, it is vitally important that you listen to me, and remember what I told you both yesterday. Going off on your own will endanger not only yourselves but her aswell." she ordered, mostly at Kiba naturally.

"Of course, sensei." replied Shino, hands deeply entrenched in his jacket.

Kiba could feel his fangs showing at Kurenai's words. Surely she had to understand how important Hinata was to Team 8? How could they just act normal...

_Huh..._

He blinked and looked again at his teacher. It took him a few more moments to fully understand, for she had taught them before how words held a certain power. It all depended how you interpreted them. The angry scowl shifted.

"We'll get her back as a team...right?" he asked hopefully.

And on Kurenai's face appeared a very small smile.

"If it comes to that...hai." she said.

Kiba felt his heart lift. Of course, he wasn't alone.

_We'll get you back Hinata. You can bet on us, I swear it!_

* * *

**Kotetsu**

Hagane Kotetsu was hoping for a quiet day to compensate for the stressful one yesterday. As he emerged from the gatehut to go take a wizz behind a tree and stopped to view the figure walking down the forested road, he knew it was not to be.

"Uhh...Izumo?"

"What?"

"You might want to get out here."

"Trouble?"

"Looks like it. Pass over my scroll."

Even as Izumo walked up to the archway, Kotetsu kept his vision on the approaching ninja.

"Is that...?" Izumo started, handing over his partner's weapon scroll.

"Mm...he must've got away."

"We can't let him back in...the council will kill us. I know the three day thing isn't up yet but..." he trailed off.

Kotetsu sighed.

_So much for peaceful..._

Make no mistake, Uzumaki Naruto was heading right back to Konoha.

TBC

* * *

Alternative Chapter Title: Our Hokage Is Missing / Swear Bears

**Author Notes:**

I know I know...you don't have to say-

**This is late. Horribly late. **

Many apologies. This chapter proved to be a real bugger to write and I got distracted with E3 things and what-not. Mainly I didn't exactly have a _plan_ for this one. The Tsunade party I have planned many chapters for, but with the chaps back at Konoha, I'm just writing and seeing what comes out, working it all in. As it turns out, this tends to induce writer's block. Whoops.

In case it wasn't obvious, those few lines in Neji's bit that are quoted and in italics are his memories. Lines taken straight from the manga in fact! Should be easy to tell who's saying what. Speaking of the manga...the Naruto Shippuden fillers finally beat me - that bloody weather kid...so I've forged ahead by reading the manga for the first time. Having everything spoiled wasn't fun either.

Good news for Chapter 6! We'll be heading back to Otafuku to rejoin the exiles at the start of their Day 2. Will it link into this chapter's lame cliffhanger? Probably...

And because I know exactly what'll be happening, I'll be jumping right into it. Expect to see it around **June 25th**.

As always, write in with what you think. Let me know if the character focus and detail is about right.

(I know it's technically supposed to be "Hyuga" but for ages I saw it spelled as "Hyuuga" and it just looks better damn it. And yes, apparently "oi" is _nephew_ in Japanese. Who knew.)

Until next chapter!


	6. Styling and Profiling

**Disclaimer: **The Naruto Universe is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. If it were Hasbro's, Road to Ninja would've taken place in a high school setting.

* * *

Day 2

**Shizune**

_She was at it again. Her mentor - the greatest medical ninja alive. One of the Sannin. Her idol._

_Compulsive and definitely alcoholic gambler. _

_Tsunade didn't notice knocking her glass of whisky over as she roared with laughter at nothing in particular. The green of the blackjack table darkened as the booze sunk in; Shizune could only watch with despair._

_Not again._

_"Tsunade-sama!" she cried placing her hand on the Sannin's shoulder. "You're going to get us kicked out again..."_

_"Psshhh...bwahahaha! What are you talking about? There's no-one here! How can I lose if I'm the only player?! Hee..." _

_Shizune looked up and saw she was right. The dealer and other players she'd expected to be there were not. _

_In fact...the blackjack table was no longer there either._

_"So I was thinking..." Tsunade began, now on her feet and looking quite normal. They were no longer in the casino for sure but Shizune couldn't begin to guess where they now were. _

_"...how would you like to settle down?"_

_"Tsu...tsunade-sama?"_

_"You don't want to hang around with someone like me forever. We need to find you a place where your talents best serve others. What more can you learn from me?"_

_"H-hai...well...maybe...you think I'm that good?"_

_"Mm! He'd be very proud of you..."_

_"Tsunade-sama...?"_

_Everything faded to darkness._

Her arms ached - especially her right, she'd been laying on it awkwardly. She turned her whole body onto it's left and snuggled her head deeper into the pillow to return the lost comfort. Boy had she needed it, considering all the exertion she'd endured yesterday.

_These beds are niiiccceee..._

Following twenty minutes of bliss, the slowly increasing and encroaching light in the room and the pressure down below became too hard to ignore. With great reluctance she forced herself upwards, off the bed, and lurched into the bathroom. After answering nature's call and giving herself a thoroughly modest wash and brush up, Shizune walked back into the bedroom completely refreshed. She stretched her arms back, feeling the rush of a body replenished with chakra.

_I feel great, that was the best sleep I've had in years! I feel-_

At that very moment, one of the scrolls on the ceiling finally became unstuck and dropped down onto Shizune's skull.

* * *

**Naruto**

"Yah...!"

Naruto was and always had been a pretty heavy sleeper, but he'd been already stirring awake and so heard the relatively faint shriek quite well. Sounded like it had come from a nearby room.

"Oh? I guess Shizune's awake. How about you kiddo?" Tsunade's voice came from across the room, quiet but inquisitive.

"No...nnnn..." Naruto kept his eyes clenched shut and breathed deeply. Without a doubt, this was the best bed he'd ever slept in, and he had no intentions of getting up soon. If he could drift off once more, he might dream again of the streets of Konoha, the great view from the top of the Hokage Monument or the mini-adventures he used to create for himself in the surrounding woods.

Not for the first or last time, his big mouth gave the game away.

Shortly after being _gently_ cajoled into evicting his place of rest, Naruto found himself washed and dressed to a reasonable degree. The procedure had been done in a mostly zombie-like state. He had never been much of a morning person.

"Boy, you really _do_ wear that thing every day don't you?" Tsunade was giving his apparel a very unimpressed glare.

"No!" he countered, eager to defend his beloved jumpsuit, currently unzipped. "Only on missions, and this is still kind of a mission, yeah?"

"Pretty much, and we have a lot to get through today." she replied, striding over to the hallway door. She turned to him again and gave a dirty look as he yawned. "You do _wash_ that right?"

It was definitely too early in the morning for this. Here he was waking up to the first morning of exile, and he was getting hygiene complaints.

"Hai! Cut me a break Granny!" he shrieked, pointing accusingly at her. In response she smiled apologetically.

"Just don't get too attached to it is all." She opened the door and motioned him to follow.

_Great...can this get any worse?! And how is she so alert this early?_

The Sannin stopped before the door to room 11 for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh? What for?" So far as Naruto knew, none of this had been her fault. She turned and stared worryingly at the jewellery around his neck. The blue crystal that now represented his dream.

"For that damned necklace. I told you that thing is cursed." Her eyes fell to the side, lost in thought. "Nawaki...and Dan...they both had it about as long as you've done."

Naruto considered very briefly to yell at her like he'd done when he first met her. He knew it was wrong to blame her grandfather's gift for their deaths, to blame herself, to blame anyone. Equally quick thinking told him it wasn't the time or the place. If she was accusing the necklace for his current spate of bad luck, she had another thing coming. After all, his life had never been easy. The crystal hadn't changed that.

"Hey," he closed the gap and hugged her. The height difference meant his head only reached her stomach but he didn't care. "I'm the 'Number One Unpredictable Ninja', yeah!" And Naruto flashed up at her the cheesiest grin he could muster. He got a barely contained snort of laughter and a ruffling of his hair in response.

"Psshh...hai...now that I can believe. You just...keeping being you, okay?" she said, with a warm genuine smile that the genin hadn't seen for awhile. He let go, feeling pleased whatever he'd done seemed to have worked. It was a feeling he loved with all his heart, knowing he could cheer people up like that. It didn't work on everyone, but when it _did_ succeed, it didn't just make his day - it lit up his life.

_That...and ramen! I hope this city has a place like Ichiraku's, yeah!_

Tsunade turned again and rapped on the wood. After a brief pause the door opened to Shizune's hand, the other rubbing the top of her head strangely. At least she looked rejuvenated from the day before.

"Good morning! Come in." she grinned, opening the door to its widest. The two wandered into the well-lit but still messy room. "Uh...apologies for the mess..." Her hand drifted to scratching the back of her head. "Yesterday was pretty hectic..."

"Mm...we can go through it all in a moment." Tsunade's eyes scanned over the bits and pieces littering the floor.

Naruto glanced across the well-made beds and suddenly realised they were a ninja short. He was about to ask where Hinata was when he caught the sound of a running tap from the bathroom.

"Where's all the ryo again?" Tsunade asked.

Shizune bent down and reached underneath her bed. Carefully she dragged out a wide and thick paper bag with a dozing Tonton on top. The pink pig opened frustrated eyes at having her snooze disturbed, and wandered off in a huff. Naruto stared at the bag with wide eyes, not daring to believe how many ryo notes something that thick could contain. Hundreds, if not thousands. Perhaps many millions worth of cash was now at their disposal.

_How much ramen would that all buy...I'd be set for life, yeah!_

Naruto envisioned a vast ocean of meaty, noodly ramen, with himself swimming in it right at the centre. The smell...

_Oh Gods...the smell...heaven..._

"Are you _drooling_?"

Naruto snapped back to reality, suddenly aware of a slimy sensation down the sides of his mouth. Tsunade was looking at him incredlously. Quickly he wiped his mouth with sleeve and looked for a way to change the subject. He noticed and frantically pointed at one final scroll stuck to the ceiling.

"Hey what's that?"

Tsunade followed his line of sight til she saw the small scoll too. Just about managing to jump up and grab it, she then gave her assistant a knowing look, who blushed.

"I swear, I have no idea how they got up there..."

"Uh huh..." Tsunade eyed it in her hand. "This one's just a storage scr-"

Naruto stopped listening the moment he caught the sight of a larger, tan-coloured scroll leaning innocently against the table. He knew exactly what it was because he'd seen it before. Even read from it. It was thanks to that thing that he knew his now number one jutsu.

_The Scroll of Seals._

He didn't know quite how to feel seeing it again. Less than a day had passed since he'd been forced to give up his forehead protector, and now here was the _other_ object that had made that one night months ago so memorable. Since then he'd heard that even Orochimaru was after it for lord knows what. How had he missed not seeing it on the cart?

"You okay Naruto-kun?" Shizune's gentle question penetrated his thoughts. He figured he'd been staring at it.

"Uhh...sure! It's just err...why did you bring that?" he asked, nodding towards the scroll.

"Simple. When he was alive, my grandfather sealed away this scroll, and I want to know why. Also I trust myself to protect it more than those old coots." Tsunade replied with gleaming confidence.

Mizuki had exclaimed that the scroll was forbidden. A glimmer of excitement peaked in Naruto's mind as he wondered if it contained techniques anything like as cool as Kage Bunshin.

The door to the bathroom clicked and swung in. Naruto swivelled round to see Hinata walking gingerly into the room, clad in a plain shirt and usual three-quarter length shorts. It was amazing how much bulkiness she lost outside of that beige jacket. Thin clothing revealed just how slender she really was. She almost stopped dead when she met his eyes.

"Ah...um...good morning N-naruto-kun." she stuttered. Her dark hair stood out strong in the daylight.

_How did she get it blue anyway? Who else has blue hair?!_

"Uh...hey! How did you sleep? Pretty comfy beds right?" He stretched out his arms and grinned, pushing his random thought aside.

"Hai! Hai..." she replied before darting over to her bad, somehow managing to gracefully avoid stepping on any scrolls. Looked like she couldn't get her jacket on fast enough.

_Guess she was cold. Doesn't feel too chilly though..._

"Naruto, you take a seat with Hinata on the bed there while I explain a few things." Tsunade said, who walked over to the cabinet and grabbed her Hokage hat. Shizune meanwhile made herself busy by starting to clean up the mess.

The lone male in the room shrugged and approached the far bed. Hinata glanced up at his advance and flushed red.

_Ehhhh...is she too hot now...?_

"Actually Granny, I'm okay standing." he said, brushing up against the bed's side.

"Mmm...fair enough. You'd probably have been on your feet for the exciting bit anyway." She pulled up a chair opposite the bed and sat on it backwards, folding her arms on top of the backrest.

"Ex...exciting bit?"

"Yup." She stared at them with intent. "Uzumaki Naruto. Hyuuga Hinata. You both have great potential, as shinobi and much more. I've decided to take you both on as my apprentices!" Her head lifted in triumph. The two genin stared dumbfounded as Shizune dropped the scrolls she was holding.

"Ehhh...? But...Tsunade-sama..you...what about..."

"You?" The Sannin eyed the panicking woman as if she'd expected the reaction. "Oh don't worry, you're still my attendant. Where would I be without you?" She grinned.

"That's not quite what I meant..." Shizune paled.

"Wait...you mean like what the Pervy Sage wanted me to be?" Naruto asked. He still wasn't sure he'd heard her right.

"Well...I suppose. I can't speak for his teaching but I imagine it's different to what I have planned for you."

"Ano...Hokage-sama, you mean...medical jutsus?" Hinata piped up.

"Bingo. Especially you Hinata. As a Hyuuga your chakra control must be up there with the best."

"Erm...erm..." Hinata gripped the clothing around her knees and rocked slightly. Naruto missed this as he had a question of his own.

"What about me? Nyeh? You know any awesome jutsus like Rasengan?" His body fidgeted with anticipation of learning what tricks the Hokage had up her sleeve.

"Oh I'm sure I'll find something for you somewhere..." she replied, waving her hand patronizingly. Naruto hoped she was joking.

"Now then," she continued. "Jiraiya was going to bend a few rules by having you as his student. Personal apprentices should ideally be higher than genin as the role requires greater individualism and specialization. Understand?"

Hinata nodded. Naruto followed suit after a pause having just got to grips with the long words.

"Which is why, to get around that..." Tsunade slapped on the Hokage hat and grinned maliciously. "As my first Hokage order of the day, I'm promoting you both to chunin right now!" She pointed at them both victoriously.

Naruto drowned out Hinata's cry of something between a squeal and panic with his own disbelief.

"EHHHH?!"

It didn't make any sense. Though he never lost a single duel during the chunin exam, he hadn't technically passed it either. Only Shikamaru had done that. Apparently it took something more than sheer strength to get promoted.

"As Hokage, I can promote whoever I damn well like." Tsunade stated while tapping her hat, obviously recognizing the confusion. "It's only a formality that promotions happen after exams, so that Kages can see the skill of each shinobi first-hand in a controlled environment."

Naruto wondered if he should be jumping for joy right now. Chunin was the next step on his journey to becoming Hokage. He'd quite literally fought almost to the death to achieve the title, and fallen just short. And now he'd been handed it suddenly out of the blue for no effort. If anything, he felt underwhelmed.

"What's the matter kiddo?" Tsunade's grin faltered. "I was expecting you to hit the ceiling or something."

He suddenly felt all eyes on him, even Hinata's. He wasn't surprised she'd be confused too, after the experiences they'd shared during the exam.

"I guess it feels...weird? To do it this way..." he struggled to put his warring thoughts into words. Tsunade seemed to understand.

"Ahh...trust me. With you as an independent ninja this was the only way it was going to happen. It's not like another village is going to take you on any time soon."

"In...dependant ninja?"

"Hai. It's like being a missing-nin but without having assassins sent after you. Basically what I was doing before you and the pervert found me."

Naruto understood, noting the weird parallel he was on with Sasuke.

_Blegh..._

The last thing he needed was to drag that fool into his thoughts.

Shizune - having finished cleaning up - was now rummaging through the pile of scrolls on the other bed, apparently eagerly looking for something.

"I'm a chunin..." Naruto said out loud to himself, staring at his hands as if they were on fire. "I'm a chunin!"

"That's more like it." Tsunade grinned again, while Shizune finally found what she was looking for - a blank parchment. She strolled over to the cabinet and grabbed a pen from the drawer.

"Should I write these down, Tsunade-sama?"

"Eh, go for it. You know I hate the paperwork. You got the seal?"

"Hai...somewhere..." She checked her pockets and sighed. She returned to the pile and dug through it again.

Tsunade turned her head back to the new chunin. "Obviously I plan to rub this and a few other things into the council's nose." Another evil smile. This one Naruto recognized from the night before aimed at him; he shivered inwardly.

"Ano...other things?"

"Hai, but those don't concern you nearly as much. Don't worry about that."

Shizune triumphantly lifted the seal from the mass on the bed. "Got it."

"Before you get started..." Tsunade stood up and walked over to her attendant, whispering something in her ear. Shizune hesitantly nodded, glanced momentarily at Naruto, and sat down at the cabinet. As she began to write, Tsunade returned to her seat.

_What the..._

"What's that all about Granny?" he accused.

"Now now...just a small addition. I'm also giving Kakashi a place on the council."

_Kakashi-sensei..._

"The c-council has a spare seat?" Hinata asked.

"Of course, the Senju seat! With me gone, there arn't any Senju left in Konoha to take it. But as Hokage, I can personally recommend anyone to represent it, even someone not of the clan. Technically the Uchiha seat is open too, but I don't think the Third wanted to use it after the massacre." She paused for a second in thought and then giggled. "You know, thanks to those old coots, for the first time ever there's no-one of the Senju or Uchiha clans present in Konoha. Can you believe that? Both of the village's founding families! Outrageous."

Naruto was rapidly losing interest. He hadn't expected a history lesson, and _definitely_ didn't want to hear about any damn Uchiha's. Even worse, a slow rumble in his belly painfully reminded him he hadn't eaten for around 12 hours.

_Man...I hate being hungry...when are we getting freakin' breakfast..._

If anyone noticed his discomfort, they didn't show it. Trying to ease the nausea, he sat down on the side of the bed. He could've sworn Hinata shivered in the corner of his eye.

Apparently taking the silence as a sign to move on, Tsunade pulled a loosely bound parchment from her pocket. Unfurling it onto the ground between them, Naruto saw instantly it was a map of the continent. Whoever the artist was had handily chosen different colours for each country. A bright red covered the entirety of the Land of Fire, but was offset by large clusters of green forested areas. Naruto saw with interest how they were currently around a third of the way to the Land of Waves.

"Our next move is important. I don't plan on staying here another night, we're leaving this afternoon." She said bluntly, studying them closely. "I want you two involved in the decision of where we're heading to, okay?"

"Mm..." Hinata nodded once again.

As if to respond, Naruto's stomach let out a far louder growl.

_Everyone heard that alright, yeah. Screw this..._

Naruto got up, trudged over to the desk and swiped the keys near Shizune. Next he exited the room and unlocked room 12. Quickly finding his bag, he reached in and instantly felt his item of saving grace.

_Sweet, sweet ramen..._

He had to consciously stop himself drooling again as he clutched the precious instant ramen pot on the way back.

"Is that ramen? Are you seriously going to eat _that_ for breakfast?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow after he walked back in.

"What of it? I usually do." he retorted, switching on the kettle.

_I hope this one boils faster than my old one. _

"Wow, no wonder you're so stumpy. I'm gonna have to put you on a meal-plan."

Hinata did her best to suppress a giggle, and failed.

"Har har...Hinata may find you funny but I sure don't." he grumbled.

Shizune apparently finished writing the first few statements and set down her pen. She got up and went over to Tsunade's side, staring over her shoulder at the map.

"Where were you thinking?" she asked.

"Tanzaku's further away from Konoha than Otafuku. Or there's the capital. Those are good in-country choices. Heading to another land would severely limit the council's options but increases risks from elsewhere." The Sannin's eyes drifted north on the map. "I wonder if the Raikage remembers I helped him out-"

"No!"

Naruto mentally double-taked as he processed the fact that Hinata had almost _shouted_. After a few moments of stunned silence, she buried her face in her hands in apparent shame. Tsunade too looked shocked, until Shizune whispered in her ear. Her expression gradually shifted to one of sympathy.

_Great...more secrets. _

Naruto wondered for a second. He felt like he should know about this.

_Which one's the Raikage again? Not stone...that's the complicated word...lightning? Yeah...Kumogakure...Kumo...Kumo..._

Frustratingly the answer was just eluding him. Something about it twigged his memory, but not quite enough to break through. He made a mental note to ask about it later.

The suddenly awkward tension of the room broke when the kettle began hissing.

_Ah finally!_

"Oi Naruto, while you're over there, make yourself useful and get us all some tea." Tsunade called over.

"Hai...hai..." he grumbled, hoping there was enough water for all of them. Tsunade cood Hinata out of her self-imposed shell while he placed the complimentary tea leaves into three cups. The kettle at last peaked - shooting up a surge of steam. He cut it the power and grabbed it, filling up the cups with care. Naruto had heard once of a tradition some people followed of disposing the first brew, keeping the leaves and drinking the next re-fill - apparently the taste improved. He thought then and now that it was a dumb idea and kind of a waste. Most teas tasted all the same to him regardless.

The two adults both thanked him as he gave them their cups. To his disappointment on the way back, he noticed Shizune had hidden the parchment she'd been writing on from view. Stomach still growling, he made haste to get Hinata's cup.

"T-thank you Naruto-kun." she said quietly, eyes locked onto the whispy beverage as she took it. He figured she really needed it, even if she still looked warm in the face.

Wasting not a second more, he strode back to the counter and ripped off the pot lid. Pouring the last of the water into it, the meaty aroma barraged his nostrils. Fighting back the urge to tip the contents into his mouth in one go, he grabbed some chopsticks and dug in.

_It's no Ichiraku's but it'll do, yeah!_

* * *

**Tsunade**

Trying to ignore the sounds of eager slurping from across the room, Tsunade ran her gaze over the paper below her again. Thank heaven Shizune had reminded her of the 'Hyuuga Incident' or she may have innocently questioned the girl's outburst and caused undue distress. It was unfortunate, but having a Hyuuga onboard meant scratching out Kumogakure entirely. She'd always meant to visit the land of her natural affinity - maybe one day eventually.

She took a deep swig of tea and settled her eyes again on the two spots on the map she'd noticed first.

_Tanzaku...or the capital... _

The former meant practically turning back in the opposite direction - west, but on a road that would swing them many miles south of Konoha. It also meant potentially pushing further on towards the Land of Wind. Back in her brief days of office, she'd been surprised how eager Sunagakure had been to renegotiate allied status after their failed invasion - despite her old teammate's influence.

The latter option meant continuing in their general south-easterly direction, coming close to the coast. The nearest of the Five Great Countries to them there would be the Land of Water. Not much came out of there recently. Various rumours had come to her ears - mostly from Jiraiya - of strange goings on, whispers of coup d'etats and possible actions of some members of the Seven Swordsmen, but nothing concrete beyond speculation. Whatever was going on behind the mist in those islands, Tsunade knew it wasn't a place to take her charges. It stunk of danger and unnecessary risk.

Far closer was the Land of Waves - a small island nation emerging from a local recession and growing in reputation from trade with the Land of Fire. Tsunade remembered sighing upon first hearing the name of the bridge connecting it to the mainland - apparently the main builder had been a fan of Jiraiya's disgusting books and named it after the hero from his first, somewhat decent one. She wondered if Naruto would love seeing a landmark that bared his name. At any rate, it provided a decent destination should things get hairy in the capital.

"Tsunade-sama?"

She looked up at her apprentices questioning look, and smiled to reassure her.

"Ah, don't worry, just been thinking. I may have a plan."

Naruto downed the last dredges of the pot and sighed happily. Tsunade looked up to see Hinata was actually slyly watching him rather than looking at the map.

_Oh for goodness sake..._

"Alright, time to focus!" she said authoritatively. She pointed at Naruto. "You, get over here and look at this."

Quickly he bundled over, the slouchiness of his walk now absent. She pointed at the south-east region of the red splash.

"You two see that little red star between here and Wave? That's the capital of Fire, home to the Daimyo's Palace. Heading there next should give us a few days to plan our next move. Any objections?"

"Mm-mm." Hinata firmly shook her head. Naruto merely shrugged.

"Sounds good to me."

"How likely is it Konoha will search there?" Shizune asked.

"Far less than here I bet. It's at least two days travel, and there's gotta be hundreds of villages between the two."

"If you're confident then I'm with you. Just don't make me pull the cart all the way this time." she quipped, sipping the last of her tea.

Tsunade snickered. Sometimes Shizune knew just what to say to help lift her spirits.

"We'll see."

* * *

The Sannin made her planned final trip upstairs to make sure they - ie: Naruto - hadn't forgotten anything. He hadn't been best pleased with being ordered to help lug the stuff outside.

_"Why do I have to carry the big scroll?! Can't we just seal it in something smaller?"_

_"You want us to seal the Scroll of Seals in another storage scroll? Do you have any idea what would happen?"_

_"Yo, I heard you like-"_

_"Shut up brat! I'm not having you implode the universe on my watch."_

She walked into room 11 to find Shizune and Hinata packing the last of their things. Considering how the room looked mere hours before, it had seemed like a small miracle to get it back to its original state.

"Naruto's downstairs tormenting the Lunashi girl. Don't suppose you could make sure she doesn't kill him?" she asked the jonin, tapping her nose while Hinata faced away.

"Hai hai, meet you outside." Shizune departed with the last of a scrolls and a knowing smile. The Sannin sat on the bed, resolving to get this over with quickly. She didn't expect another opportunity alone like this would come up again any time soon.

"Hinata."

"H-hai...Hokage-sama?" The girl turned around. Her face worried Tsunade.

"Are you scared?"

"Ano...a little...I-I keep expecting to wake up and be back to n-normal." Tsunade couldn't quite tell if the girl was meeting her gaze or not.

_Those eyes still creep me out..._

"Oh we're all feeling a little like that I assure you. Don't feel alone there. Actually I wanted to apologize."

"Hokage-sama?" Now she definitely was.

"When I ah..._borrowed_ you yesterday I didn't recognize you at first. Technically I was still furious at the time but to not remember you was bad of me." she grinned sheepishly.

"Um...ano...that's okay...Naruto-kun wasn't himself yesterday either."

_Jackpot. She has been watching him._

That made things easier - now Tsunade didn't need to use her contrived reason to bring up Naruto.

"Speaking of Naruto...I know you like him." Hinata impressively went from a flaming red to ghostly white in a matter of seconds. "_Don't_ even try to deny it girl. A woman of my experience let's nothing get past her. Especially a crush."

Hinata's eyes were rapidly zipping around looking for a way out of the room but her body didn't look to be obeying her. Perfect.

"I understand how you feel, believe me." She paused to let it sink in. She needed to make some kind of personal connection with the girl, so that her advice would hit home.

_Hopefully that's enough. Time for the big one._

"But speaking as one kunoichi to another, it is not an easy path to go down." As she spoke, vague images of the sweetest and most beautiful man she ever knew flickered in her mind. His long hair shone bright like a beacon in the dark. "I lost those I grew close to...in time of upheaval. We may be entering more such times right now, and the last thing I want to see is more ninja turning out like I nearly did."

Something about this cute, shy girl brought out fundamental fears in Tsunade. No-one really deserved the life she'd led, and if someone of Hinata's disposition ever found herself there, it could very well break them. Tsunade had had Shizune for company. Who did Hinata have?

_Living each day with feelings that strong is like going all-in on every poker hand. Eventually, you lose everything close to your heart._

"I..."

"Hmm?"

"I believe in Naruto-kun!"

_Woah._

The weak and timid voice had been totally replaced by a cry of courage. Her back had straightened while her face showed utter certainty. Where had that come from?

_Where do you think? Who else made you believe in yourself? She said it herself._

Of course. Tsunade realized she'd missed the bigger picture, and perhaps grossly underestimated the girl before her.

_It's not the same. Naruto isn't Nawaki...or Orochimaru...or Dan. And Hinata's not you. _

"Well! I'm sure he's pleased as punch to have you behind him. I know the brat well enough to appreciate even he needs support now and again." she said.

The sudden iron will Hinata created from nothing slowly crumbled away, her face relaxing to a smile. She pressed her fingers together and looked down.

"Um..please don't...don't tell him."

Tsunade laughed loudly at the sight.

"Ha! You're too cute Hi-Na-Ta! You have my word as a fellow kunoichi."

"Thank you..." Tsunade could just make out a rosy tint colouring the girl's cheeks.

"Looks like you're all packed anyway. Ready to go?"

Nodding, the girl hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders and allowed Tsunade to lead her downstairs. The Sannin dipped briefly once more into her thoughts on the way.

_She'll be okay. They're both young and stupid. She's just glad to be around him and he's far too dense to pick up on her true feelings. It's not like Dan and I. I'll be protecting them with my life anyway._

Truth be told she was shocked at how optimistically she was thinking lately.

_It's from hanging around Naruto too much. Jeez. A couple more weeks like this and I'm not going to recognize myself...heh. Maybe not such a bad thing..._

They both entered the reception area to find Naruto and Lunashi engaged in some form of staring contest within mere inches of each other. The former had his face scrunched up bizarrely. Tsunade sighed.

"Naruto, quit playing games. We've got to make tracks."

"Yayyyy! I win!" the young daughter squealed with delight and jumped around the room.

"Lies! That doesn't count, yeah!" Naruto replied angrily. The mother watched on with palpable amusement.

Not in the mood for a Naruto tantrum, Tsunade grabbed his collar and hurled him through the exit door.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata ran out the door after him.

"He'll be fine." Tsunade grinned as she handed the door keys back to the proprietor. "Thank you for the rooms again, I'll remember you for sure if we pass through again."

"Oh thank you!" the woman replied cheerfully. "I um...I don't mean to pry but uh, are you the Hokage from Konoha?" She glanced down at the hat clipped to the Sannin's belt, the red symbol for 'Fire' emblazoned on the white fabric.

_Play it cool..._

"Hai...you caught me, we're on official shinobi business." she said in her best innocent voice. "I don't suppose if I made a slight donation to your business, you could tell anyone who asks after us that we headed north?" She reached into an inside pocket.

"Ohh..err...I'm flattered but...I don't know if I-" her stuttering stopped immediately on seeing the large wad of ryo Tsunade placed on the counter. Both mother and daughter went goggle-eyed.

"Woooaahhh!" Lunashi cried, bouncing up to the counter. "How much is that?"

"Never you mind dear. I umm...are you sure about this?" she asked Tsunade. "That's more than I make in weeks."

"I always tip when there's good service." She winked. "Take care! You too little one." And without looking back, she strode out, confident the Lunashi family had their backs.

The rest of her party greeted her sight outside in the bright late-morning sun, by the cart - still packed but less so now that much of the equipment had been sealed. Certainly Shizune didn't seem to complain at taking the first shift at pulling. Naruto was rubbing his head, his clothes peppered with dust. Hinata - predictably - was giving him an anxious glance.

"What the hell, Granny?!"

She ignored him and placed the hat on the cart underneath some scrolls.

"Hey Shizune, you go ahead and meet us in the field near the south-east exit. I gotta take these two shopping quickly. Precautions."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." she nodded in understanding.

"Alrighty. Chunin, with me!"

She led them to the middle of town, taking care to look an inconspicuous as possible among the early day shoppers, and took them inside a fairly large clothing store. Being in a civilian city, most of the items on offer were appropriately non-ninja based - no weapons or headbands in sight. It actually made a nice change not seeing an apparel shop dominated by blacks, greys and dark greens. In fact, it only deepened the mystery of where Naruto had originally gotten his orange attire back in Konoha.

"What are we doing in here Granny?" he asked tediously as she picked up some dark sunglasses off a rack. Hinata went to browse the shirts.

"Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror lately kiddo? That...what you're wearing now isn't suitable anymore. And you're still growing. Pretty soon you'll outgrow those and need new stuff anyway. So, see anything you like?"

He gave her a look extremely similar to the one yesterday upon learning he had to give up his headband.

"Oh for...look, see here?" She picked up a young teen's sizing of dark trousers. "You'll grow into these _and_ they won't get you killed by any ninja who isn't half-blind."

"Fiiinne." he scowled.

"Excellent. Now th-"

"Aww sweet!" he ran over to the rack full of jackets and pulled one out. Proudly he held it up against himself. "This!" Instantly Tsunade felt like bashing her head against the wall.

"No."

It was a zipper jacket with a padded collar similar to the jumpsuit he had on. The primary colour _was_ black - a block of it in the top half and following down the centre. But the rest of it was the exact same shade of blatant orange. She miraculously managed not to swear.

"Aw c'mon!"

"I don't see why you have to-"

"It's this or nothing! I insist!"

Inwardly cursing, she gave up. Letting him get his way this one time would have to do. At least the black would blend with the trousers and _partially_ increase his chances of not getting killed. Really anything was better than that shambolic blue-and-orange combo he currently had.

"Eurgh...okay...but you have a _serious_ problem brat. Your obsession with orange better not come back to bite me." she warned, taking the jacket.

Hinata had evidentially noticed Naruto's new trousers and was studying a ladies' varient of the same colour. She held them up.

"Ano...would these do?" she asked.

Tsunade reached past her and pulled off a dark blue pair. She held them against her.

"Hmm...I think the blue would be better for you...hai. I actually came in here for _his_ sake but it wouldn't hurt for you to get larger stuff too."

"Hai." Hinata replaced the black pair.

"What about a jacket? Got a preference for colour?"

"Um...I dont-"

Tsunade was already away looking among the women's outfits.

"You should think of something darker too...something also blue perhaps?"

_This is fun! I could spend hours in here!_

"Hokage-sama..."

"Urgh...look at this!" Naruto interrupted. He'd found a grey zipper top that looked like it'd been cut in half horizontally. "What idiot would wear _this_? It barely covers anything!"

Ignoring the irony of Naruto giving advice as a fashionesta, Tsunade caught a colour she liked.

"Aha! Hold still a sec..." She held the prominently purple jacket next to Hinata, eyes swiping between the two. In truth it was more of a lavender hue but it definitely matched the girl's eyes, as if it were meant to be. The sleeves and collar meanwhile were white, the former ending at the tips with bands of the same pale purple. Hinata stared at it up and down. "This is perfect for you, no?"

"Um...I guess..."

"Excellent! We're done here then."

Tsunade strode up to the counter, placing upon it the clothes and sunglasses. The short but cheerful looking man looked happy at the potential business.

"We'll take these."

"Of course madam." The two chunin also walked up. The owner's glasses reflected the light streaming in from outside as he turned and watched Naruto. "Ahh...I see you have a custom symbol on your shoulder there young man." He looked up at Tsunade. "If you'd prefer, for a tiny bit extra we can replicate that symbol on any new item of clothing."

"Oooh really? That's awesome!" Naruto looked over the moon. "Wait...and this one?" He spun around revealing the red spiral on his back.

"Hai hai...that should be no problem at all. That symbol used to be quite popular though I haven't see it around much lately." he replied contently. "And you young lady? What about your symbols?"

"Oh. Uh...ano...no thank you...that's alright..." Hinata whispered back. Tsunade recognized the little red flame-like objects on the girls shoulders as unofficial logos of Konoha.

"Kids eh?" Tsunade joked to the man. "So I suppose we can take everything now apart from his jacket?" The man nodded.

"We'll make a new one from scratch. It shouldn't take more than a week." He said smiling.

_I doubt we'll be back that soon but we can always pick it up whenever we pass through._

"Sounds good to me." She lifted some more ryo notes from inside her clothing and thumbed out on the counter around double what the clothes were actually worth. To complete the effect, she leaned forward and stared directly through his glasses. "By the way? We were never here."

The man stared wildly at her and then the money, choosing to nod dumbly in reply.

"Thanks again!" Tsunade hollered, ushering out the two chunin with their new purchases slung across her shoulder.

"Why didn't you want your symbols done Hinata?" Naruto asked back outside. Tsunade guessed it was approaching noon.

"Oh um...I-I...t-these arn't part of Hyuuga c-culture. Th-they're just r-random r-really..."

"Speaking of the Hyuuga...you see how Hinata's eyes are different to others?" Tsunade asked. Naruto glanced briefly at her, frowning.

"Hai...but so what? They're not that bad..."

Tsunade swore she saw yet another red blush appear.

"You don't get it. They're a tad obvious to passers-by. Luckily, I have a solution!" She whipped out the sunglasses and pressed them onto Hinata's face. "Ta-da!"

Hinata just stared into space indifferently while Naruto facepalmed.

"_That's_ a solution? Are you serious?!"

"What? I can't tell she has the Byakugan now and you can't either. It's ideal. Now let's go, Shizune's waiting."

The threesome headed down the street once more, soon lost amongst the crowd.

* * *

_That spiral is the symbol of Uzu...Kushina's old clan. I wonder if the brat knows?_

Tsunade found herself thinking again as she caught sight of her attendant standing in the open grassy field. It shared a similar look with the one her and Jiraiya had fought Orochimaru and Kabuto on mere weeks previously she noticed. Fortunately it was far enough away from the city's outskirts to afford them relative privacy.

_Uzushiogakure..._

There had to be few in this part of the world who hadn't heard of the tragedy of the Land of Whirlpools. Considering how close geographically they were to the island...Tsunade wondered if Naruto was old enough to know the truth of his mother's clan. And that was only half of the story...

_He'd explode if he knew the Fourth was his father. Maybe I'll feed the truth to him gradually...oh...oh Tsunade...you genius!_

"Pass me that list of my orders. I have a new one to add." she practically ordered Shizune upon approaching her.

"Oh uh..sure..." She dug out the parchment and laid it flat out on the cart. Tsunade grabbed a pen and began writing underneath the existing words.

"Thanks. Keep them busy for abit."

"Okay...sooo...were you finding the sun abit bright, Hinata-chan?"

Tsunade drowned out the sounds of Shizune conversing with the new chunin about the shopping trip. This last addition was perfect. It certainly spat in the face of the Third's ideals, but he was long gone. She had no obligations to her old sensei anymore, and certainly wasn't about to pass up a great chance to cause the council a real headache.

_I wish I could be there to see their faces!_

Finishing the sentence, she glanced over the whole parchment. Six new laws, about to go into chaotic effect. Having been already stamped by Shizune earlier, Tsunade rolled up the parchment and banded it together. Next, she turned to face Naruto.

"Now then...I need to test something. Make a shadow clone for me?"

"Hai! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

His exact replica poofed into existence right next to him, grinning.

"Now what happens if _he_ tries Kage Bunshin?"

Both Naruto and clone looked stunned.

"I err...I don't know! I've never..._they've_ never tried it."

"Huh...well let's give it a whirl shall we?" She chucked the parchment over to the clone. "Put this in your pocket first."

The clone did so, and with abit of hesitation, made the hand seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Another clone appeared. There appeared to be no difference.

"Sweet!" the original Naruto shouted. "I had no idea I...uh...they could do that!"

"We're the same as you, baka!" retorted the first clone.

"Enough. New clone, pass me the parchment you have." Tsunade said. He did so. It looked utterly identical to the original. "Now dispel him." She motioned towards the newest clone.

"Wait wha-" He vanished before finishing his cry. Tsunade couldn't tell if the original or the first clone had done it. To her disappointment, the cloned parchment also disappeared from her hand.

_As I figured. Ah well..._

"It looks like items that are cloned only last as long as the clones they're summoned with. But that doesn't make them any less real while they're around. See where I'm going with this?"

The kids both looked blankly back at her. Shizune seemed to be on the verge of getting it.

"You don't mean to...?"

"Heh. It's probably as crazy as you think. Gather round, here's the plan."

* * *

**Clone #1**

It had taken him hours of running and leaping through the forest but finally, the gates of Konoha were in sight. Thinking back, the clone wondered how insane Tsunade actually was to have come up with this plan. It was completely demented, ridiculous and likely to cause serious emotional damage.

He _loved _it.

The only downside had been that Tsunade had made him swear not to read the parchment. As tempted as he'd been to unravel it, he knew he couldn't go back on his word. Tsunade had trusted him. The original had fist-bumped him and told him he couldn't fail.

He wouldn't let them...or Hinata...or Shizune down.

Within around a hundred feet from the gate, he saw first one, then both gatekeepers step under the arch. He'd been warned of that. Trying to get back into the village by himself...no doubt they'd be able to take him on easily. Unluckily for them, he wasn't going to be alone.

Checking one final time that the parchment was secured safely in his pocket, he stopped, and raised his hands.

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He felt the charka surging through his body, and pumped much of it through the seal.

The road was engulfed in smoke, but already he could feel the presence of the other clones surrounding him. When it cleared, hundreds occupied the roadway in all directions. Some had even ended up in tree branches.

Without a second to lose, he pointed directly at the gate.

"CHARGE!"

The road thundered. Konoha was about to be invaded again.

TBC

* * *

Alternative Chapter Titles: None. Sad face.

**Author Notes:**

Hurr durr fashion jokes. That part in the shop was supposed to be only a few sentences long too!

I hope you like long chapters(!) because this one ballooned to over a thousand words longer than the previous longest one. I did do my very best to finish this before July but I severely underestimated the amount of stuff that had to happen in this chapter. That and my slow writing and quality control tendencies...as a rule I hate publishing under-quality chapters and I'll always try to iron out errors out in drafts. I suspect I'll be doing a Day 1 patch on this though regardless.

So I intended to have a Hinata part in here somewhere because the original plan was to have each alternate chapter have the perspectives of Tsunade, Naruto and Hinata, juggling the order around each time. Then I figured that was abit unfair to Shizune. Plus Hinata had a huge chunk in Chap 4. So now it's pretty much just whoever feels right for each part.

Can clones summon other clones? I wondered that for ages. Turns out they can according to a part in the manga that's just ahead of the anime. Looks like Naruto just didn't realise they could do that for ages.

I feel bad for using the term 'trousers' when most of my audience is apparently American, but I just can't use 'pants' guys. I can't. It's against my nature. In other news, Naruto's and Hinata's shippuden outfits came from the same shop. Whatta coincidence.

Hopefully Naruto's in character. The little goon's tougher to write than I'd thought he'd be. Let me know what you think.

Oh yes, reviewers. A couple asked about _Jiraiya. _He is turning up soon and like everyone else he'll be as in canon character as I can make him (hopefully). His appearance actually marks when the training wheels of this story come off and we get to the good stuff. Adventuring and the like. All this backstory takes freakin' ages to get through. Interestingly I have planned out plot points for this story _miles_ into the future, but not much at all between now and then. I'm weird. I do plan to take this story up to Shippuden btw. And maybe do a sequel...if this get's popular enough. We'll see.

A marvellous thanks to the complimentary reviews I've gotten so far. These really do inspire me to keep going. I mean that. As always, ideas and criticisms welcome too. I insist on them. Especially for the next chapter - **Send in the Clones**. It's going to be a riot to write and if you (yes, **you**) think you have a super awesome idea for it, send it in! Hurry though as I plan to get this done by **July 10th**. For those of you keeping score, yes, it'll probably knowing me actually appear on the **20****th. **

Until then!


	7. Send in the Clones

******Disclaimer: **The Naruto Universe is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. My delays make George R R Martin's look reasonable by comparison.

**Day One Patched! **

* * *

Day 2

**Clone #361**

Clone #361 was one of the dozens that had materialized in the surrounding tree branches. There simply wasn't enough room on the ground below; a veritable sea of yellow, orange and spots of blue covered the road and forest floor. Despite only existing for mere seconds, he and the others knew exactly what to do. All that stood in their way were two jonin.

_"Try not to kill them." _

Tsunade had only been half-joking but as Mizuki had found out to his detriment, having this many clones converging on you was not something to be taken lightly. Naruto knew from the start of the chunin exams that one of the gatekeepers had some kind of reality-warping genjutsu. The other's abilities he could only guess at. This first step would have to be done quickly.

The front line of the clone 'army' had already sprinted far enough to close half the distance, with the rest of ground clones not far behind. Clone #361 and the others in the trees leaped from branch to branch, aiming for the ones closest to the gates where support from the air might prove crucial. From up high he could see the two jonin wasting no time. The one with the long and wild hair had summoned the weirdest looking weapon he'd ever seen - some kind of clam or shell thing - that looked very unwieldy. It had to be bulkier and heavier than _he_ was.

His partner - the one with the bandana - was already going through hand seals. None of the clones were near enough to stop him finishing.

"Suiton, Syrup Capturing Field!"

The jonon sucked in breath deeply for a second, and then from his mouth burst forth a torrent of a pale, gooey looking liquid.

_Urgh._

Arcing high, the substance landed directly at the feet of the clone front runners, splashing up and covering their bodies in the goo. A few fell over head-first from the momentum of being stopped so suddenly. The liquid spread along the ground, trapping the feet of more and more clones. The entire front line had been stopped in it's tracks, and the rest were simply crashing in the backs of those in front. More than a few 'pops' of clones dematerializing were heard as they drifted back into the ether.

"Uzumaki Naruto! Halt and cease your advance!" yelled the jonin with the shell mace. "By order of the village of Konoha, you are forbidden from entering. Turn around and leave or we'll be forced to fight the real you in there."

_Ha! Shows how much they know, yeah!_

Clone #361 and the other tree leapers reached the final branches, almost in line with the gatekeepers. A gap of around ten metres still separated them from the ground clones. If the jonin noticed the ones here in the trees, they hadn't shown it. The one with the bandana was now gripping a kunai in his left hand.

"Really?! Did Granny Hokage order you guys that?!" yelled one of the trapped clones.

"Hai!" a couple other clones joined in.

"Orders are orders Naruto. Go back to the Hokage so we don't have to fight. You know she wouldn't want this." the one with the kunai called out.

"That's where you're wrong!" A slow smirk grew on every one of the Naruto faces.

Suddenly dozens of clones from the middle of the pack burst upwards and forwards. Using the heads of those in front as stepping stones, they leaped forward, enough to clear the still spreading sticky goo. Recovering on the ground while yet more clones behind mimicked the menoeuvre, they charged again.

_Now's the time!_

"Granny Hokage ordered me to do this!" Clone #361 bellowed, before leaping with the other tree clones towards the gate. If the surprise from yet more clones appearing wasn't enough to distract them, that little revelation surely was.

It seemed to work. The goo hurling gatekeeper paled for just a second before attempting to use his jutsu again. It was a second too late. As he heaved another breathe inwards, the first of the running clones barreled into him.

"Izumo!" The other jonin grimaced and swung in front, easily connecting with a clone about to do the same to him. He looked up, easily overwhelmed by the number of still more clones sailing from the trees. Clone #361 and some others were already passing him. Meeting his eyes briefly, the clones saw him turn his attention to the hundreds of clones bearing down from the road. Izumo had freed himself with his kunai and also stood, prepared to fight on.

For #Clone 361, the way was open. He was right in front of the gate! With the others alongside him, he charged forward with electric intent. The bright streets of Konoha beckoned.

_That was easier than I thought it'd be! Now to find-_

For the millisecond before vanishing, Clone #361 experienced the unfortunate feeling of running directly into a solid wall at full sprint.

* * *

**Clone #99**

Clone #99 reached into his pocket and pulled out a length of rope, chucking it to his fellow clone currently in the process of tying up an gagged Izumo. Every clone had one since the first had taken one from Tsunade's cart. This was the purpose, to ensure the two gatekeepers wouldn't cause further trouble while the rest of the clones carried out the plan inside the village.

The fight had been brief and blunt. After watching a dozen clones mindlessly sprint headfirst into the walls either side of the archway - which _had_ to be due to a genjutsu of some kind - Clone #99 and the others he had charged with had simply overwhelmed the two jonin. They'd certainly knocked down the clone numbers by at least twenty thanks to skillful fighting, but neither were seemingly adept at the up-close combat style Naruto specialised in. The sheer numbers tipped the scales far too much in the clones' favour anyway.

Izumo was now joining his partner in an extended break, tied up to separate trees a fair distance from the gate. Apart from Clone #99 and the few that had stayed behind to deal with the jonin, the rest of the clones had piled into Konoha unopposed - including the ones freed from the syrup jutsu. Hundreds had made it through, surely one more clone wouldn't make a difference?

"You guys good here? I'm gonna scout around the walls." he said.

"Hai, they're not going anywhere. What for?" the other clone replied, not noticing the evil glares Izumo shot at him.

"Just wanna. Make sure they don't escape, baka!"

"We won't. Don't fall out a tree, baka!"

Clone #99 leapt into the nearest tree grinning, looking back briefly to see the others doing the same, and shot away into the branches.

Staying relatively close to the walls on his left, he fell into the automatic motions of tree leaping. His actual destination was the Hokage Monument, and skirting around the village's outskirts seemed like the safest route. It wasn't like he could trust any of the other clones inside the village to get there what with likely every ninja out to get them. No, he would be the one to fulfil Naruto's wish, for he was a clone summoned out of the original's desire to see the village from above once more. While he still could. And then he would jump from the mountain without fear, knowing that as a clone he could do nothing more. What else could he do, wait to be dispelled?

Landing on another branch, the clone thought to the parchment inside his pocket. No-one would read this one.

_Unless I did..._

The temptation was there for sure. Surely there wasn't any harm in a doomed clone reading whatever Tsunade had written.

Eyes on the next tree, he leaped forward. Then again, there wasn't much point in a doomed clone reading it to begin with.

_Not like I'm gonna be able to pass anything on. May aswell keep the promise to Granny, yeah._

Brushing the thoughts aside, he realised he'd absent-mindedly ploughed straight ahead instead of following the curve of the wall. He was about to divert left when something caught his eye on the forest floor.

_Huh?_

What looked to be a very overgrown pathway was faintly visable snaking it's way through the forest. It was barely anything more now than a dirt track. Indeed the clone wondered if it was even visable from ground level. Whatever the case, he'd never seen it before, and chose out of curiosity to allocate five minutes for seeing if it led anywhere.

After three, he spotted it did. A large building loomed ahead in a clearing. Making sure to jump down from a height that wouldn't result in broken ankles, the clone stared at the structure from the trees' edge.

It looked like an abandoned temple. It definitely had the architectural style of the Fire Temple which Naruto had seen illustrations of. The clone guessed it wasn't in use anymore as nature was slowly taking back the land; overgrown weeds and flowers littered the ground around the structure while vines curled upwards along the walls. Not only that, part of the roof had caved in, and some of the wooden support beams over the entrance looked dangerously creaky. He could see cracks everywhere.

However, the feature that caught the clone's primary attention was the symbol above the front entrance - a large and familiar spiral.

_No way...is that...MY spiral?_

It had to be a coincidence. Nonetheless, if there was any doubt about going inside before, it was gone now. Clone #99 simply _had_ to see what was inside. Maybe he'd get an answer to why this temple had the exact same symbol as the one adorning the back of his jumpsuit.

Stepping forward gingerly, the clone proceeded inside, the chirps of nature replaced by silence peppered with classic sounds of a building threatening to collapse in on itself. With every step, he got an increasing feeling he shouldn't be inside here.

_Please...don't let it be haunted...don't let it be haunted...please don't let there be ghosts..._

The entrance hall led to a large room - probably the central one of the temple - where the old inhabitants must have gathered for meetings. Light streamed in from gaps in the high roof, including the gaping hole the clone had seen outside. The floor was ruined and rotten, having been subjected to constant water damage. The clone walked over this towards the back of the room, attention caught by the feature against the far wall. For there stood a bizarre sight. Underneath a battered cloth curtain and yet more spiral symbols was the creepiest collection of masks the clone would undoubtedly ever see. About thirty evil looking faces stared back into the room, hung up to form a show of downright _spooky._

Thinking these masks might give him a clue as to what this temple was about, he took a step closer. Instantly he got the feeling he was being watched. Almost afraid to look, the masks seemed to change. Were they really _that_ demonic looking?

A rising feeling told him he should get the hell out of there. And it was rapidly overwhelming the want to take away one of the masks.

_What if they all come alive and attack me?!_

His last look at the wall was noticing one of the faces on the top line apparently looking _right at him_. After a few seconds, the room was empty of presence once more. The clone never once looked back.

* * *

**Clone #12**

Clone #12 had been one of the unfortunate ones caught in the syrup, and had therefore missed being the first back into Konoha. That honour had gone to clone #82, the lucky bastard. Shoving away the thoughts of getting revenge for him for that _and_ for trampling on his head to get over the sticky goo, clone #12 focused on looking around for anyone he knew. Kakashi was the absolute must-find of this mission, Tsunade had stressed that if just one person had to read the parchment, it was him. Unfortunately, as Naruto had found out back in his early team 7 days, his sensei was never where you expected him to be at any time. No-one seemed to know where the man even _lived_ for goodness sake.

To make sure, the clones had formulated a strategy once inside the village. Simply - every area of the village was to be covered until Kakashi was found. Then they could prioritise other people. That part of Tsunade's plan covered finding members of the prominent clans and sharing the parchment with them. And of course, Naruto's link to them was through the rookies.

Clone #12 was heading to the west side of Konoha, hoping to look around some of the training grounds. At the very least, it was a guaranteed bet that Rock Lee would be training there with Might Guy. If the other two members of Team Guy were present, even better.

He was sticking to the rooftops while running, though he'd noticed other clones tearing through the streets down below. So far - apart from odd glances of people naturally not used to seeing dozens of him running about - his village 'invasion' had gone down pretty quietly. Really it was disappointing. Would it last though? Probably not.

About to leave the rooftops behinds for the more scenic areas, the clone caught sight of instantly recognisable pink hair down below in the road.

_Sakura-chan...!_

She wasn't alone.

_...and Neji?_

Jumping down a good ten metres away, the clone saw them both clearly in conversation. For him it was a very odd pairing - had they even spoken before? About to move closer, Neji spotted him. And then, noticing his focus broken, Sakura turned around.

It was the most awkward pause the clone would ever experience.

"Naruto!"

Whatever short memories of her running over were knocked out by the gripping hug she gave him.

"Not...so...hard...Sakura-chan...I'm...a clone..." he managed to wheeze out.

"What?" She moved her head back from his shoulder and stared at him.

"Naruto...what's going on?" Neji asked as he walked over, his featureless eyes transfixed by something behind them. He looked tired and dishevelled, his clothes and hair mattered with dirt.

The clone turned to see a group of his fellows in the distance charging down a main street. A couple broke off and ran towards the threesome.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan!" they both called, grinning madly with hearts in their eyes.

"Get lost, I found her first! Keep looking for others!" Clone #12 yelled back.

Grunting, the two hurtled past - waving as they did so - in the direction of the training grounds.

"You're...you're all clones? Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked expectantly, hands still gripping the jumpsuit.

"He uh...he's not here. We're here on a mission from Granny Hokage...oh wait! I need to give you this." he replied, rummaging into his pocket. Sakura let go of his clothes, a look of utter bafflement plastered over her face.

"Oh! Hinata-sama, is she with you? She's safe?" Neji practically shunted Sakura aside to get his question in. He looked close to losing his typical cool.

"Hai hai! She didn't tell you?" The clone pulled out the parchment. Sakura eyed it suspiciously.

"No...she lied to me." His frown deepened. "It's not like her at all."

"Well actually I think Granny Hokage kinda kidnapped her. She said something about...uh...making sure her otousan doesn't do anything stupid." the clone replied before handing over the parchment to Sakura with a smile. She opened it and began reading.

"Hiashi-sama? So Hinata-sama wants to come back but cannot?"

"Uh...maybe...I hadn't really thought about it like that..." clone #12 folded his arms and copied Neji's frown.

"This is...I'm...you're..."

Both boys glanced at Sakura who looked like she was gripping onto the parchment for dear life. She was staring wide-eyed at Naruto's clone.

"You've...you've read this? This...is all true..?" she stuttered. Usually she only went through such a rapid shift of emotion when Naruto asked her on a date.

"Ah! No!" the clone spluttered, theatrically shielding his eyes. "I'm not supposed to know what's in there, Granny Hokage made me swear not to look." He paused, and delivered his next sentence in a uncharacteristicallly serious tone. "She wants you to copy down whatever's in there and get it to the clan heads. And Kakashi-sensei, that's who most of us are looking for.

"Sensei...I haven't seen him today..."

The clone _really_ didn't like the look Sakura was giving him. Her eyes seemed glazed over like a zombie; he almost wanted to back away slowly.

"As soon as possible since that parchment's part of the kage bunshin. It'll only last as long as I do." he continued. "Neji, can you get this one to the Hyuugas?"

"Hai. May I read it first?" Neji asked Sakura. Not getting a reply, he simply took it out of her hands. She offered no resistance.

"Well I'm supposed to go hide now until the original stops the jutsu. I'm glad I got to see you Sakura-chan, yeah!" Clone #18 said, flashing her the biggest grin he could muster. Of all the copies, _he_ had been the one to talk to Sakura, and to him that made his brief existence completely worthwhile.

"Hai..." she replied, still appearing as though she was looking right through him.

"Good luck! And to you Neji."

The genin had his eyes glued halfway down the parchment as the clone turned to leave. Throwing a goodbye hand gesture behind him, he dashed back the way he'd come. He thought he heard a faint shout behind him but didn't stop to check, every moment now was critical. If he disapperated before those two had the chance to copy the contents, it would risk the validity of Tsunade's orders. After all, it wasn't just Sakura and Neji who had to pass on the messages, and if there were any conflictions...

_Eh, they'll be fine. I just have to do my part! Now...where would be a good place to hide..._

Twenty five minutes later, clone #18 finally came within reach of his apartment. Numerous detours and close calls on the way over resulted from the ANBU as expected ultimately emerging and dispatching the clones one by one. So far he'd seen or heard at least thirty Narutos dismissed. It was a matter of time now - the more ANBU that joined the hunt, the less time the clones had.

Dearly hoping his compatriots had found Kakashi, clone #18 made his last jump over to his old apartment complex.

_No-one will ever think to look here, yeah!_

In midair at the apex of his leap, there was no way to avoid the thrown kunai that connected with the base of his neck. He never saw it coming.

* * *

**Clone #135**

Having spent more time that he'd have liked expaining everything to Team Ten, clone #135 nervously glanced over his shoulder. Everything seemed to be relatively safe out here in Training Ground 5, but on the way over he'd seen the ANBU coming out in force, and now surely he was working against the clock. For now at least, the clones he had come with were signalling the all-clear, acting as lookouts near the edge of the clearing.

"So I presume you have these orders then?"

Asuma's calm voice lured his attention back to the group. The man had barely reacted to seeing an exiled kid interrupt his team's training, and even now after the explanation still looked decidedly non-plussed. If anything, clone #135 guessed he was enjoying the break from teaching his students, watching him light up enough cigarette. No wonder Naruto had never heard Shikamaru complain about him - they were practically twins of temperament.

"Hai." he replied, taking the parchment and handing it to the jonin. Asuma casually unfurled it and began reading.

His three students were all giving clone #135 odd looks. None of them had said very much since he'd got there. Choji looked dumbfounded - plain and simple. Ino couldn't decide if she wanted to stare at him or at her sensei. Shikamaru closed his eyes and furrowed his brow.

"Well..." Asuma started, taking a deep puff of tobacco with his eyes scanning the top of the page. "Congratulations on joining Shikamaru here as chunin." He looked at the clone with a twinkle in his eye.

"Aw gee...thanks...I didn't do much for it though..." clone #135 replied, rocking back and forth on his heels. This sensation of approval was _such_ a strange feeling.

"Wow really? You too?!" Choji gaped. Ino suddenly looked furious.

"WHAT?! How the heck did _that_ happen?!"

"Sheesh."

All eyes turned to Shikamaru, now looking at the clone again.

"You have a real knack for causing troublesome situations, you know?"

"Aheheheh, yeah." the clone answered, grinning. "Uh...don't tell me anything else in there Asuma-sensei. Granny Hokage's orders."

"Mmm...is that so?" His eyes returned to the parchment, reading down.

Clone #135 turned and waved over to his fellow lookouts. Sticking three fingers out, a trio of clones rushed over to join them, handing a parchment each to the students of Team Ten. Quickly, they hurried back to their temporary posts.

"So these are for our parents, right?" Ino asked.

"Hai, the sooner the better."

"Can we go sensei?"

Asuma looked down at the questioning Shikamaru.

"You're the chunin, what do you think?" the jonin replied, giving him a knowing nod.

"Heh. Let's go, Ino, Choji."

"Mm!"

"Hai!"

"And Naruto..." Shikamaru walked up to stand by him. "It's good to be able to see you again. We all thought...well..."

"I'm fine, Shikamaru." Clone #135 placed his hand on the other chunin's shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry about me."

Shikamaru's beady eyes opened up wider. The beginnings of a smile formed.

"We won't let you down."

"Never." agreed a clearly determined Choji.

"You're still an idiot, but you bet my otousan's gonna see this." Ino said, a new found spring in her step. "Whoever drove you and Tsunade-sama away is gonna pay."

Did Team Ten really think so much of Naruto? Maybe the original should have spent more time hanging out with these three!

After they'd headed off towards Konoha proper, clone #135 turned back towards the jonin. Asuma had rolled the parchment back up and looked to be puffing up the last half of his cigarette in record time.

"I better go and hide now." the clone said stretching after an awkward few moments.

"Mm...if only I'd had the liberty of reading the last set of orders I was given." He flicked away the stub.

"Huh?"

_This guy better not be as cryptic as Kakashi-sensei._

"I was ordered to deliver the request for you to be exiled, to the capital. I'm sorry. I had no idea about it until after I returned and you'd already gone."

If he wasn't on an exceedingly important mission at the time, clone #135 might've had more to say at Asuma's statement. As it was, he remained focused on his priorities.

"Forget about it. I gotta go, you can take care of your parchment, yeah?"

"Mm...sure can. You're a good kid Naruto. I wish I could've taught you someday." Asuma said, breaking out into a small smile. The clone returned a bigger one back.

"Hah! Whatever you say, Asuma-_sensei_."

And with that, he took off, deeper into the woods, followed by the lookouts.

Half an hour later, clone #135 plunged towards the ground, after a tree-top argument among the clones about boredom got slightly out-of-hand.

_"Well this sucks"_, he thought, just before his skull connected with the hard earth.

* * *

**Clone #508**

"What do you mean you're 'taking care of Hinata'?! You bastard!"

"Ahh! Easy Kiba, easy!"

Apparently clone #508 had underestimated the young Inuzuka's bond with his female teammate and thus maybe should've chosen his words with more care. Or perhaps Kiba was simply using the opportunity to get some revenge for his chunin exam defeat. Either way, the clone shot a panicked look at the striking jonin standing close by. He dreaded to think what would happen if the genin's fangs got any closer to his face.

"That's enough Kiba. Let it go. It's a clone don't forget."

"IT?! Hey!"

"Even as a clone you're still far too loud." growled Kiba, reluctantly releasing the clone's jumpsuit collar with both hands. Akamaru whined depressingly atop Kiba's hood having obviously not enjoyed the sudden movement.

"I have to agree." said Shino, looking utterly unflappable at the sight of multiple Narutos. "But I deduced immediately that your statement regarding Hinata was innocent."

"Uhh...right, yeah!"

"May we see these orders?" Kurenai asked him.

He signalled over two clones acting as scouts at the edge of their location - Training Ground 8.

"Just read them, copy them, then get them to your families. Don't read anything off of it to any of me." he explained, handing his cloned copy to the jonin while his fellows gave theirs to the genin.

"We saw you threatening him! What's the big idea eh?!" clone #491 yelled at Kiba. The accused glared right back.

"Oi...I'm just worried about Hinata is all!" he replied. "Where are you guys at anyway?"

"We were at Otafuku but we've moved on. I dunno if I'm allowed to say where to though..." Clone #508 paused and scratched the back of his head.

"Don't worry. That's more than enough information for us." Kurenai smiled, evidentially in no hurry to read her parchment. Shino was already nose-deep in his. "I only wish we could pass on our support to Hinata."

As useful as kage bunshin was and continued to be, telepathy among the clones was sadly not included in the jutsu description. Clone #508 hoped that maybe the original would work on something like that when he learned more about inventing and improving jutsus.

"Are you _sure_ the Hokage knows what she's doing?" Kiba asked him.

"Hai! At least...I think so..."

"Excuse me." Shino looked up. "You intend for all of the clans to read these, correct?"

The clone did everything in his power to try and read something - anything - into Shino's monotone question. He failed spectacularly.

"Pretty much!"

Shino just _stared_ at him. Nothing in his body language moved at all. A category 5 hurricane would not have moved this boy at full strength. Out of nowhere, a very slight buzzing sound began to grow steadily louder. And then Shino looked down at the parchment in his hands again.

"Interesting."

"What is it? What's in there?" Kiba made a grab for Shino's copy.

"Read your own."

"Uh...what...oh...hai..." He pulled back and sheepishly unwound his own parchment while Akamaru face-planted down into the hood.

"I'm afraid we should call this to a close." Kurenai stated to them all. "I don't want Kiba or Shino implicated in any of this, and we can't assist you further than delivering these. The ANBU are surely on the move."

"No worries! I'm an expert at stealth and hiding, yeah!" exclaimed clone #508.

"Hai!" his fellow mimics agreed.

The three members of Team 8 gave each other and him incredulous looks.

"Of course."

"Riiiight."

"..."

"Well then...you two. Report to your families and continue with your regular exercises until next time." Kurenai ordered.

"Hai, sensei." Shino wasted no time in moving away.

"Mm! And Naruto, if the real you doesn't keep Hinata safe until we get her back, he's dead!" Kiba yelled before sprinting off.

"Hai hai!" the clone called after him.

"Good luck."

"Oh uh..."

Clone #508 didn't manage to finished his sentence as Kurenai made a seal and was engulfed rapidly in a whirl of dancing leaves before vanishing in the wind. He swore he just saw a smile on the jonin's face.

_Guess that's that._

"Where're we hiding then? The forest?" clone #491 asked.

"You two can. We should split up, so I'm gonna head..." he closed his eyes and spun around, then pointed in a random direction. "...that way!"

A short while later, clone #508 neared the walls of Konoha. South-east was taking him back towards the main gate. Several near-misses and alleyway escapes had delayed his progress; maybe hiding in the trees _had_ been the better choice after all. Nevertheless, he was out of options. Less and less clones were acting as distractions for the ANBU, and turning back would be certain suicide for the bunshin. His new and only plan now was to check up on the clones watching over the gatekeepers.

Silently thankful that no-one appeared to be watching the archway, the clone dashed from the cover of a nearby building and went underneath it. Turning left, he looked for the tied-up jonin among the trees.

"Guys? Hey!"

_Strange. I could've sworn they weren't this far in. _

Taking one last look around, clone #508 suddenly double-taked as the two gatekeepers stepped out from behind separate tree trunks.

"You've got five seconds to tell us if you're the real Naruto or not."

Completely freaked out by the fearsome looks on their faces, he spun around and ran. He'd take his chances with the ANBU.

Leaping back out from the trees, he was about to hurtle back into the village before noticing a certain kunoichi casually leaning against the wall. The way she handled the kunai in her hands disturbed the clone on many fundamental levels. He knew from past experience that this woman was nightmare-inducing.

"Oh hello there." Anko purred, straightening up. "Let's play a little game, shall we?"

_Damnit! Whymewhymewhymewhymewhyme..._

* * *

**Clone #444**

He'd seem some bad things in his time. Far too many different and discomforting ways one could dispatch of a clone. Whoever taught the ANBU clearly knew their ninja stuff. And if that wasn't bad enough, clone #444 was pretty sure he was being stalked. His current position on the stairs right underneath the Hokage monument wasn't exactly tenable but it was better than out in the open streets, plus it gave him a good view in three directions.

The only question now was whether that lone ANBU ninja he'd seen following him on the way over would show up.

Gazing out over the railing across the village, the clone looked for any sign of danger, or the errant Hatake Kakashi. It must've been at least an hour since the invasion and to his knowledge the masked shinobi had still not been located. With the number of clones remaining rapidly decreasing, the time left for him and his fellow clones couldn't be more than another hour.

He sighed. It was truly time for a miracle. So he looked up in the direction of the Fourth's face for any kind of inspiration.

"GAAHH!"

That damn ANBU shinobi stood horizontally from the rock, staring directly down into his eyes, no more than ten feet away. Without a second panicked thought, clone #444 pelted down the stairs - intending to make a dash for the Hokage Tower. Not only was it the nearest building but naturally the office would be empty and might make for a good hiding spot.

Turning at the foot of the steps, the clone was about to sprint for it, until the ANBU calmly dropped in his path, before standing up.

_Oh Gods, I'm dead...I'm so dead..._

Now in the sunlight, the details of his grey uniform made his imposing nature no less intimidating. He wasn't especially tall but those thick and partly exposed arms could likely do serious damage. Fortunately he had so far made no attempt to reach for the blade sheathed on his back. The creature motif of his mask didn't look like any obvious animal - the ears were cat-like but the markings were unlike anything the clone knew. The fat red semi-circles around the eyes did nothing to alleviate his fear. Even amongst the ANBU, clone #444 guessed this was not a man to be messed with. All that left him with just one reasonable course of action:

Surrender.

"Take it! Take the parchment! I don't want it anymore!" he yelled, throwing the bound paper at the ANBU's feet.

The man stared behind the mask at him for a second, then leaned down to pick up the parchment. As he appeared to read it, clone #444 ever-so slowly tilted his head left and right. Both ways were technically open to run in and attempt an escape but something told him this man wouldn't let him run ten feet before taking him down.

_If only the original was here, yeah. More clones would be a blessing right...now...wait a sec...if clone #1 could do it, I can too! D'oh!_

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

_One more clone can't hurt...woah..._

The new bunshin immediately started to run to the left but it was clear already something was wrong. The ANBU ninja looked up and readied himself defensively but watched on along with clone #444 as the fresh arrival stumbled and fell, sweating profusely. Connecting with the hard earth, he poofed out of existence.

_Nynngh...what happened..._

Clone #444 felt awful...like all the energy had been sapped right out of his body. Failing in the battle to stay on his feet, his knees collapsed and only a fast arm support stopped him following the new clone's demise via ground face-plant. He'd spoken way too soon; this did hurt. Alot. It took most of his focus just to keep from blacking out. Was this what chakra depletion felt like?

Hearing a noise, he achingly raised his head to see the parchment floating down to land on the ground right in front of him. The ANBU ninja had let it go and, in a measure of seemingly absolute indifference, proceeded to disappear in a whirlwind of leaves.

_Well...great? Urgh..._

The fires in his joints spread; there wasn't a bone in his body that didn't want to collapse onto the floor. Desperate to find something or someone to help him, he crawled an arm's length forward. The parchment was now within reach. It was open. And his name was among the numerous words. So was Sakura's.

He couldn't help it. Reading was all he had any energy left to do. Moving was out of the question.

His eyes only just made it to the bottom of the page before closing for good. Any reactionary thoughts were snuffed out by unconsciousness...and then nothing.

_**The following new laws, declared and signed by The Fifth Hokage Senju Tsunade, are designated to go into immediate effect for Konohagakure no Sato of the Land of Fire.**_

_**1) I, Senju Tsunade, decree that Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura are hereby promoted to the rank of chunin. **_

_**2) I, Senju Tsunade, decree that Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata are hereby appointed as my apprentices, alongside Kato Shizune, to join myself for an extended training exercise. I and my apprentices are also hereby pardoned of (if any) past crimes, and (if any) future obligations to Konohagakure no Sato. Any attempt to officially reinstate these apprentices back into the village will be done solely at the Hokage's satisfaction. **_

_**3) I, Senju Tsunade, decree that the currently absent Senju seat upon the council to be filled by Hayate Kakashi. Any attempt to make further changes to the council will be done solely at the Hokage's satisfaction.**_

_**4) I, Senju Tsunade, decree that the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, S-Rank summoning scrolls and other A-Rank and S-Rank scrolls relinquished from the Hokage Tower are to be considered the property of myself as Fifth Hokage and thus under my sole protection. Any attempts to return these items to the location and security of Konohagakure no Sato will be done solely at the Hokage's satisfaction. **_

_**5) I, Senju Tsunade, decree that Shimura Danzo to be prohibited from standing for any future position of Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. **_

_**6) I, Senju Tsunade, decree the instant termination of the secret law regarding the parentage - hereby to be known freely as Namikaze Minato (The Fourth Hokage) and Uzumaki Kushina - of Uzumaki Naruto. Any past, present or future cases of shinobi breaking the old law are to be pardoned immediately.**_

_**Signed,**_

_**Senju Tsunade, Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.**_

_**May the Will of Fire burn for all.**_

* * *

**Clone #1**

Clone #1 had never imagined the village in a state quite like this. Sure, there had previously been a great deal of outrage and confusion in the streets whenever one of the original's pranks went off particularly well - the classic Hokage Monument makeover came to mind - but this had to be knocking the scale up to eleven. In the aims of distraction, the majority of invading clones had knocked over stalls, riled up some of the more antagonistic shop keepers, stolen all sorts of food, the clone even thought he could see a rising column of smoke in the distance.

_Jeez._

It had been quite impressive yet somewhat depressing seeing how quickly the villagers had organized a hate-mob, calling for the blood of Uzumaki Naruto. Ah well, if the original was going to be away for awhile then it didn't matter so much. They'd forgive him after a week or two...right?

On the plus side, the angry crowd had drawn more of the ANBU into crowd control roles, which meant less for bunshin hunting.

Clone #1 had managed to get to the east side of the village. For the last hour he'd searched on the way over and found no signs of his sensei. He had run into Konohamaru, which cheered them both up, before subsequently explaining the mission. The kid had cutely given the clone his support and blessing.

Now the sun was dropping lower in the sky and he was running out of building rooftops to leap on. From here to the edge of Konoha's borders was mostly woodland and he heavily doubted Kakashi would be lurking around in there.

_Think! Where did he say he went before training?!_

He remembered multiple excuses from the jonin but nothing specifically. The last rooftop loomed into view.

_Crap crap crap..._

He looked briefly over his shoulder for signs of danger. Nothing. So far he'd been extremely lucky. But any minute now the authorities would start combing outwards from the village centre. His long life - for a clone at least - was almost certainly approaching the end.

And then, leaping across the alleyway towards the final building, he saw the cemetery.

The original didn't have much cause to visit this part of the village and so had never really been to the graveyard more than a couple times. The names on the headstones did prove oddly fascinating though, as it was impossible to tell if any of the fallen had done heroic deeds in life or gone down in flames of glory. Thankfully it wasn't nighttime or he wouldn't have dared approaching. Many kids had spread _realistic_ stories of the _various_ ghosts that hung about, looking for innocent youngsters to _steal souls _off of. He shivered.

From above, Clone #1 had a clear view of the entire plot where the distant figure stood, apparently paying his respects. A relatively tall man with unmistakably distinguishable grey hair.

_Kakashi-sensei!_

Wasting no time, the clone jumped down and through the cemetery gates. He didn't care if running was disrespectful, every second counted now. Approaching the jonin, clone #1 could see he had his hands in his pockets and stood relaxed, like he'd been there a long time. The air really seemed still here.

"Kakashi-sensei!" he called, slowing to a slow walk. He reached into his pocket.

Kakashi turned around. Not even the mask could hide the look on his face.

"Naruto...?" He rubbed his eye with his fist.

"I have something for you. I think you'll like it."

TBC

* * *

Alternative Chapter Titles: None again. Deal with it.

**Author Notes:**

So 2013 was the year Britain finally got a summer that lasted longer than a week, and it turns out temperatures approaching the 30's are _not_ ideal as writing conditions. So...yeah...apologies once again for the delay. Have the second-longest chapter yet to make up for it.

And it's still technically not done! It was getting so long I've chopped the end off and am sticking it as the opener for Chapter 8, which you _will_ see before the end of July if I can help it.

At least the first fight scene appeared. Hooray! But it was extremely short and probably not well written. Boo! But there'll be more in the future. Yay!

The part with Konohamaru was intended to be longer but had to be cut due to time. Might expand it in the future if I feel like it.

**Dark Serpent Cat - **You win the Award for most consistent reviewer and you have a valid point with Naruto's "yeah" tic. From how I see it, considering I'm using "hai" as "yes", Naruto saying "yeah" should mean nothing at all, which fits his canon "-dattebayo" very well, as that has no literal translation! But it will be toned down (mostly).

**Rixxel Stryfe** - Jeez. Your reviews could rival some short stories in length. Still interesting though! And here are the Hokage Laws you were wondering about at last - I always intended them to be brought in abit later. I did take inspiration here from the existing MH stories but as you can probably see, my laws are likely the most interesting. I also foresaw your point about confusion with the chronology of each chapter while writing, which is why I have the _"Day _"_ at the start of each to help out. Up til now: Chapters 1+2, 3+4, etc have been running roughly alongside each other.

Review, or I'll pair Naruto with Sasuke. Yes, in a romantic way. Don't make me do it.

Until next time!


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